A to Z of Danny Whumps!
by JazzieG
Summary: Just what it says in the title! 26 individual stories of ways Danny gets hurt! Why? 'Cos it's fun! All team members will appear throughout.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii 5-0 or the characters. I would be sunning myself on a private beach on Hawaii myself if I did!**

**A/N: Quick explanation... this will be a series of long(ish) one shots. Each will have a different 'incident' resulting in different problems. Any OCs will repeat throughout the series 'cos I'm just too darn lazy to make up names. There will be 26 chapters. There will be swearing! If you think I should up the rating at any time then please let me know.**

**Thanks to Qweb for the encouragement to post this!**

**I will post as and when I can but I am working on an NCIS / Hawaii 5-0 crossover which I hope to start posting soon, plus I am going into hospital Friday which will require a sedative and therefore likely a weekend of watching Hawaii 5-0, not writing for it! There will likely be a delay in submitting chapters for the first 3 weeks of January as well since I will be travelling to Oz to see family. Who knows perhaps I'll have finished this before then? Maybe if I stop waffling and get on with the story...**

**- 5-0 -**

**A is for Accident**

It had been a long day in the 5-0 offices which meant it was 11:30 PM and Danny Williams was only just getting in the door of his crappy little apartment. All he wanted to do was get in the shower and wash the stench of the warehouse they'd had to chase a suspect through off his skin.

The warehouse had been filthy and for once Danny had got to the suspect before his partner, Steve McGarrett. That meant it was Danny that tackled him and Danny that got covered in the grime from the warehouse floor. He wasn't sure that Super SEAL Steve hadn't planned it that way.

They had handed the suspect over to HPD to take in and gone back to HQ where joy of joys Steve took Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua to interview the man that had just been brought in and Danny was left with the paperwork. He always got left with the paperwork. There had been a minute where he'd thought about taking a shower in the locker room but he just wanted the paperwork done so he could go home. Taking a towel out of his drawer he put it over his chair so that it didn't get filthy too and ploughed on to finish what he needed to before giving it to Steve, who had easily got a confession out of their suspect, and going home, taking the towel with him to put over the seat of his beloved Camaro. Kono could give Steve a ride home as far as he was concerned.

He quickly strips off his clothes which he throws in the laundry basket before starting the shower running. Once it reaches the right temperature he takes great pleasure in stepping under the spray. The apartment may be crappy but his shower is good enough to pass muster.

Danny has just finished rinsing himself off when the power goes out. Sighing he turns off the water and rests his head momentarily against the cool damp tiles. That's just the perfect end to his craptastic day. He reaches out for the towel. Luckily he knows the layout of his bathroom really well since there's no natural light as there's no window, making the room pitch black.

Wrapping the towel around his waist he steps out of the shower. As he turns to walk out of the room something happens, he's not quite sure what, but the next thing he knows he's opening his eyes to the blinding fluorescent light in his bathroom, his head is pounding and he is laying on the floor.

He slams his eyes shut to keep out the light and tries to push himself into a sitting position which doesn't work out well as he is overcome by a wave of dizziness and nausea. Desperate not to break his no puking record he lays back down and keeps his eyes closed breathing deeply. He has no idea what time it is and right now no inclination to move from his supine position on his bathroom floor, even if his ass is going numb. His cell phone rings in the other room, still he doesn't move. Maybe when the room stops spinning he'll try getting up again.

The cell phone rings another five times, he knows because he's counted each time. The damn noise, although muffled by the bathroom door, is still grating on his last nerve. He allows his body to relax a little and drifts off into a light doze hoping to get rid of the sensation of someone in his head playing the steel drums.

An undefined amount of time later he hears a sound, someone is knocking on his front door. He can't bring himself to care very much. The noise stops and the next thing he hears is his name being called.

"Danny?"

Huh, sounds like Steve. That means the Neanderthal has broken into his apartment. He's sure he should be angry about that but right now he's relieved.

"Steve," his partner's name comes out as a whisper so he clears his throat and tries again, "Steve?" Louder this time.

"Danny? Where are you?"

If Danny's head didn't feel like it might implode at any moment he'd have laughed at that. It's not like his apartment is that big. Super SEAL is more than capable of tracking him down, but he figures he'll give him a pointer, "Bathroom."

"What the hell? You're still in the bathroom? You were supposed to pick me up an hour ago brah! You haven't even answered any of my calls!" Steve sounds pissed. It takes Danny a minute to realise, and he thinks he can be forgiven considering his current situation, that if Steve is in his apartment and Danny was supposed to pick him up an hour ago that it's morning. He's been on the bathroom floor … well a long time. His mind won't quite give him the number of hours but it certainly explains why his ass is so numb.

"In," he's not really ready to utter more than one word, each time he speaks another steel drum bangs in his head.

"Come again?"

"Come in," he croaks out.

"What? No I'm not coming in! Just hurry up and get out here."

Steve is clearly not getting the message that Danny needs his help so he tries again, "Steven!"

"What Danny?"

"Get. In. Here."

"No."

"'M hurt."

Not sure if he's heard his partner right Steve checks, "You're hurt?"

"Yes!" Danny would really love to rant right now but it's all he can do to keep speaking the little that he is.

Steve slowly opens the door to the bathroom, which Danny never locks, he sucks in a breath as he finally realises that Danny wasn't being a jerk or trying to annoy him, but is really injured. He quickly enters the small space and drops down on one knee.

"What the hell happened?"

"Dunno. Head hurts."

"Well yeah, not surprised. You've got a nasty cut in your hairline above your right eye," he looks around and notices some blood on the corner of the cupboard that surrounds the sink. That at least explains how he got the cut. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

"Too bright."

"I'm calling an ambulance."

"No!" Danny's hand shakily reaches out and manages to find Steve's arm.

"Yes, how long have you been lying here?" The SEAL has his suspicions that this hasn't just happened given how much blood is on the floor and the fact it's dried.

"Er, not sure."

"Guess!"

"Hmm, maybe a few hours."

Steve knows that it's been longer than a few hours since Danny doesn't get up until he absolutely has to. He's pretty sure his partner has been on the floor all night, "Damn it Danny! You need to go to the hospital."

The Detective didn't necessarily disagree with that, but he didn't want Steve to call an ambulance, "You take me."

"You'll go if I take you?"

"Yeah."

Steve runs a hand through his hair and sighs, he doesn't like the look of Danny's pale skin, but he has at least managed to open his eyes and the SEAL can tell that his pupils are reacting to the light and seem to be normal in size. "Fine, I'll get you some sweatpants and a t-shirt to put on."

Always a man of action he is in the bedroom rummaging through Danny's drawers and is back in just a few minutes. He helps Danny sit up and stay steady until the room stops moving enough to allow him to get the t-shirt on. He looks critically at the injured man constantly assessing how he's doing. The slightest change in his friend's condition and he'll be calling an ambulance.

Steve helps Danny to sit on the side of the tub and gets his sweatpants on under the towel still wrapped round his waist, trying to preserve at least some of his dignity. Pulling him to his feet he supports his weight as he sways, they shuffle out to the couch and Steve lowers Danny down before grabbing a pair of sneakers to put on the other man's feet. When he's done the two men slowly make their way to Steve's truck, its parked closer than Danny's Camaro and will be easier to get Danny in and out of.

Once Danny is in and his seat belt is secure Steve gets in behind the wheel and heads for the hospital. Queens Medical Centre is only about a fifteen minute drive from the apartment. On the way Steve puts a call in to Chin to let him know what's going on and isn't surprised when he tells his boss that both he and Kono will meet him at the hospital.

- 5-0 -

Steve is sitting, not quite patiently, in the ER waiting room when Chin and Kono arrive. As soon as Steve told the nurse that he had reason to believe Danny had been on his bathroom floor unconscious for a good few hours the injured man was whisked away to a cubicle for assessment, that had been thirty minutes ago.

"Brah, what happened?" Chin asked.

Their boss had only given him the cliff notes version on the phone wanting to concentrate on getting Danny to the hospital so he gave them the details of what he knew for sure and what he suspected.

"Hang on he'd have got home around, what, 11:30 or 11:45 PM. He'd have had a shower straightaway since he was covered in muck from that warehouse. If you didn't get to him until 08:00 AM …" Kono's mouth dropped open, "That means he was on the floor for around eight hours!"

"Was he actually unconscious all that time?"

"He couldn't remember."

"Damn!"

Before the three remaining members of 5-0 could get into further discussions a doctor appeared in the waiting room.

"Who's here with Detective Danny Williams?"

Steve looked over at the doctor. He appeared to be in his forties, black hair, warm brown eyes, and similar build to his diminutive partner as well as the same taste in clothes apparently, but without the tie. "That'd be us. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett," he reached out and shook the doctor's hand then introduced the rest of his team, "Detective Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kalakaua. We're with the Governor's Task Force."

"Doctor Henry Jensen. Ah yes, 5-0. I've heard of you. It's a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. Please sit down."

Once the three colleagues were seated Doctor Jensen joined them, "Danny has a nasty laceration in his hairline, which will require stitches, and he is showing signs of a concussion. He's on his way for a CT scan just to rule out any bleeding or swelling. It's slightly concerning to me that he seems to have been unconscious for the best part of eight hours and he doesn't remember how the accident happened, but he did also make it clear that he was extremely tired on his return home last night. Once he's had his CT scan we'll stitch him up and then he'll be our guest until tomorrow morning for observation, regardless of the results."

"We had just finished a case that had us all a little sleep deprived. We'd been up for almost thirty hours straight," Kono spoke up once the doctor had finished.

"Could that account for the length of time he was out?"

"It could be a contributing factor. We'll know more when the CT has been done. It's also possible that Danny woke up several times and doesn't remember doing so. Honestly I don't think there is anything too serious wrong but I do like to err on the side of caution hence the CT scan and the overnight stay."

"When can we see him?"

"Once he has been settled in a room, I'll have a nurse come and let you know where he is."

"Thanks Doctor Jensen," they all stood up and exchanged handshakes once more as the doctor returned to his patient.

- 5-0 -

On arrival at the ER Danny had been subjected to numerous tests, a light shone in his eyes, following the doctor's finger, memory test questions to name but a few. The doctor had a nurse insert an IV and had ordered fluids, anti-emetic for nausea and a low dose painkiller for his headache. He'd then been sent for a CT scan, which did nothing to help the aforementioned headache.

"Well Danny, you're lucky. No sign of bleeding in your CT, however there is some swelling. You'll need another scan tomorrow morning to check that. Now let's get these stitches done and we can transfer you to a room."

Danny had already tried to argue with the doctor about staying overnight. He'd lost that fight, mainly because the second he tried to sit up the room decided to be uncooperative and spin causing him to lose what little colour he'd regained, making the doctor's point perfectly that he wasn't yet ready to be up and about.

Ten stitches and a dressing later Danny was being moved to a room for monitoring. He was really looking forward to being woken for concussion checks every couple of hours. Still he liked the idea of _never _waking up even less, so he figured it was the lesser of two evils.

"Hello Danny, I'm Eve and I'll be looking after you today," greeted a blonde haired, green eyed nurse. Her smile was warm and her eyes gentle. Danny thought he'd like her looking after him and gave her his best Jersey boy smile, "You've got some visitors. Do you feel up to it?" she asked.

"Sure," he knew exactly who his visitors were and if he didn't want Super SEAL threatening to let a grenade off in the hallways he'd better accept them.

"Hey brah, how you doing?" Kono walked in and planted a gentle kiss on his temple. The blush that set off on Danny's face brought some welcome colour to his otherwise still too pale skin.

"I'm fine Kono, thanks."

"Fine? Lying on the floor of your bathroom for eight hours, I repeat, _eight hours_, is not fine Danny!" Steve scolded.

"Just following your lead, oh great and mighty Super SEAL!"

"He's got you there Steve. It _is_ exactly what you'd say!" Chin allowed a slight smile to grace his lips before turning serious and speaking to Danny, "What did Doctor Jensen say?"

"Ten stitches, concussion checks every two to three hours and another scan in the morning," sighed Danny. He might as well tell them. Either Steve would threaten to beat the living crap out of some poor nurse to find out or Chin and Kono would hack into the hospital's files to get the information.

"Another scan? Doctor Jensen didn't mention anything to us about you needing another one," Steve's brow furrowed.

"You can wipe aneurism face off. It's just a precaution, something about a small area of swelling."

"I don't have a face," replied his partner before catching up to the other part of what Danny had said, "Swelling?"

"Yes Steven, swelling. I bumped my noggin and now underneath where I bumped said noggin I have some swelling," the Detective really wasn't up for his normal verbal sparring with Super SEAL this morning. His head hurt far too much.

"Maybe I should speak to Doctor Jensen again."

"How about, no! He said that it was really nothing to worry about. Look up the definition of precaution Steven!"

"Hey, I'm just concerned."

Chin and Kono exchanged glances. Danny really should be resting and if this pair kept this up they'd be kicked out of the room and not allowed to return till the following morning.

Danny let out a long suffering sigh and rubbed his face tiredly, "I know and I appreciate it, but I'm gonna have to put my faith in the medical staff here and trust the doc knows what he's talking about and so are you."

Seeing his friend tiredly rubbing at his face, taking in his still too pale complexion, Steve decided now would be a good time to let up, "You're right."

The other three members of 5-0 waited and when Danny didn't take the opportunity to relish the fact that their leader had just told him he was right they knew that it was time for him to get some rest and said their goodbyes, promising to come back to visit him later.

Danny sighed with relief as he watched them go then closed his eyes and settled down for some much needed sleep.

- 5-0 -

By the time Steve, Kono and Chin returned to the hospital early that evening Danny had reassessed his opinion on Eve looking after him after she'd woken him up for the third time! Luckily for Eve her shift was over and another nurse had the pleasure of disturbing the Detective throughout the night. His name was Akela. He was a six foot six inch tall, broad chested, no nonsense, native Hawaiian. Danny hated him, mainly because he had just handed him his ass on a plate when he'd dared to get out of bed to go the bathroom without letting anyone know, for the second time. The team walked in on the confrontation. For the record Kono loved Akela, he was, wow!

"If I have to tell you again to stay in bed I _will _get the doctor to prescribe something to keep you in it!"

"Well that would be kinda counterproductive given that you need to be able to wake me up oh so regularly every three goddamn hours!"

"We do have the use of restraints," the Hawaiian nurse replied calmly.

"All I did was go to the bathroom, it's not like I was trying to make good my escape. Though it has to be said I'd get more rest at home!"

Akela could be heard by the other three members of 5-0, currently standing in the doorway unnoticed, taking a deep breath before replying, "Danny my problem isn't that you got up to use the bathroom. My problem is you did it without letting me know! After I expressly told you that anything requiring your ass leaving that bed needed my assistance!"

"It's the bathroom, not a walk up Kilauea!"

"I'm done arguing with you about this Danny, keep your ass in that bed unless you ask for assistance," Akela turned to walk out of the room finally seeing their audience and looking slightly apologetic.

"Oh, don't worry we have no problem with you telling Danny off!" Kono flashed him a bright, appreciative smile.

Danny rolled his eyes at her, which he probably shouldn't have done given the spike of pain it caused. She might as well roll over and ask for her tummy to be tickled by the large man. She had all the eagerness of a puppy.

Chin cleared his throat and put his hands on his cousin's shoulders moving her to one side of the door to allow Akela to pass.

Steve chuckled at her antics as he approached his clearly unhappy partner's bed, "How are you feeling?"

"I'd be feeling a lot better if they didn't keep waking me up every three freaking hours! Not to mention lecturing me every time I get up to use the bathroom! You'd think I was streaking down the halls naked!"

"The nurses might enjoy that!" Kono giggled, earning herself an elbow in the ribs from Chin.

"Get me out of here, please!" begged Danny.

"No can do. Repeat CT scan, remember? We have, however, brought you some dinner," he indicated the boxes of pizza in Chin's hands.

"Please tell me that you didn't get me one with pineapple on it!"

"No pineapple brah. Got you one just how you like it," Chin assured him.

"You, Chin Ho, are a prince amongst men!"

The team settled down to quietly eat their way through the pizza. It had been good to hear Danny verbally sparring with his nurse, because that was just pure Danny and meant he was on the mend however it was a testament to how he was still not fully back to his normal self when he didn't manage to eat more than half his pizza.

"Sorry guys."

"Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry for," Steve replied, "We should get going. I'll swing by in the morning, what time's your CT?"

"09:00 AM."

"Alright, I'll see you before that. Get some rest."

They all said their goodbyes and left a very tired Danny to sleep. Well at least for a few hours until it was time for Akela to wake him for his checks again. None of the team envied the nurse that task.

- 5-0 -

10:30 AM the following day saw a very happy Danny being wheeled out of the hospital by Steve. His CT scan showed that the area of swelling had reduced significantly and Doctor Jensen felt that as long as someone could be with him for the next twenty four hours he could be released.

Steve had stepped up to the plate, naturally, and volunteered to keep an eye on his partner. He couldn't, in all good conscience, subject the Queens Medical Centre staff to any more of his partner's mood if he was to be made to stay. At least if Danny caused him any problems he could cuff him to his bed in the guest room and close the door. Or go for a long swim while Danny was locked in the house. Or spike his water with a sedative. Or call Grace. He was a SEAL after all so he had many ways that he could keep his partner in line.

Danny was too grateful to be leaving the hospital to have any intention of winding his partner up, well at least for today anyway. Tomorrow was another matter.


	2. B is for Beaten

**Disclaimer: Same as before, don't own blah blah blah**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and alerts, as always they are appreciated. A little caveat here, I am not a medical practitioner of any description. I did, as always, a lot of research on my subject matter but Google only gets you so far! If there is someone out there that would like to be my medical advisor please let me know! The end is a bit mushy, but sometimes it's necessary!**

**B is for Beaten**

Danny is quietly watching a baseball game stretched out on his fold out bed. There's a beer on the table beside him and he's enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening after a hectic few days at 5-0.

He had gotten home at a reasonable hour for once, taken a shower, pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt, eaten dinner then pulled out the his fold out and flopped onto it ready to watch the game. As far as Danny was concerned this was bliss. The only thing that could beat it was if he was spending time with his little girl.

Then his peace was shattered by a woman's scream coming from outside his apartment building. He should have known it was too good to be true. Of course he could ignore it and let someone else deal with it but then he'd spend the whole night feeling guilty and worrying if someone had really been hurt. He was a cop and there was no way he could let it go.

Sighing he got up and hurried to his door in his bare feet and flung it open. There in the parking lot were two men and in between them was a small woman. He recognised her as being one of the other tenants in his building. One of those that he knew if he saw her but had no idea what her name was. He'd said hello to her and that had been the extent of their interactions.

One of the men, who it had to be said, would rival Super SEAL in height, pushed the woman and she fell. Now that just made Danny angry. The woman was about his height and probably weighed half what he did. What really galvanized Danny into action though was seeing the other guy grab the woman by her hair and pull her to her feet. Danny saw red.

There was no thought of calling for help or stopping to grab his gun and badge, he dashed out into the fray. He would later think that perhaps he had been spending too much time with Steve 'no backup required' McGarrett.

"Hey! What's going on?" he yelled as he ran out into the parking lot and got right up close to the situation.

Both tweedle dee and tweedle dum stopped what they were doing and the woman used the distraction to run passed Danny and up the stairs to her apartment.

"Hey Al, shorty wants to get into our business," the taller of the two men said to his companion.

Now if the two morons had known Detective Danny Williams they would have known that there were lots of things you could say to him that would piss him off that would lead to a long rant, but comments about his height were like a red rag to a bull and could potentially lead to bodily harm. Many people had made that mistake and lived to regret it during his school years. Even Super SEAL left the height jokes alone!

"Who the hell do you think you're calling shorty?" growled Danny. Glad that the woman had made it back to her apartment safely. If the goons standing in his parking lot hadn't flipped his short fuse, and yes, _he _could make jokes about his stature, then he would have followed suit and gone back to his own apartment and left it at that.

"It appears so Jonno. What you gonna do about it, little man?"

"Little man? Really? That's what you're going with? That would be Detective Danny Williams to you. You know I don't think that pushing a _woman_ around really makes _you_ a _big_ man. In fact I'd say it makes you, and let me put this into words that you can understand, a moron," Danny watched as both men's faces clouded over, "No, was that word too big for you? How about idiot?"

Al and Jonno were less than impressed with this turn of events. The woman they'd been pushing around was Al's ex-girlfriend and he felt that she owed him money and they had come to collect. Now they were going to have to sort out this little problem before they could do that. Still it wouldn't take them long to put him in his place, even if he was a cop, which they doubted. Underestimating Danny was their second mistake; their first had been choosing to carry out their little display in front of Danny's apartment in the first place.

"I think, you need to be taught some manners," Al cracked his knuckles.

Danny rolled his eyes, why did thugs always think that cracking their knuckles made them appear harder? All they'd do is give themselves arthritis!

"I think, tweedle dee that you'll find it's you that need to be taught some manners!" Danny ducked the punch that Al threw his way without effort. He continued to duck every single punch that the smaller of the two tried to land. Danny landed a few punches of his own, one to Al's face, another couple to his abdomen, but purposely didn't put as much force behind them as he could have. Not wanting to seriously injure the other man but it was enough to leave bruises. He was an off duty cop after all, he didn't want them screaming police brutality!

Of course just because Danny would play fair, didn't mean the thugs would. Jonno decided it was time to get involved and since he was around Steve's height that meant he had a good seven or so inches on Danny, but as his Ma always liked to say, the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Jonno indicated to Al that it was his turn to have a go at this pint size problem. Now if Jonno had been like Danny's brother, Matt, when they were teenagers and fighting all he'd have done was put his hand on Danny's forehead and there was no way the detective would have been able to reach him, but this guy wasn't that smart so just came in swinging. One of his punches glanced off of Danny's shoulder but didn't even so much as cause him to take a step. Angry that his punch had no affect Jonno made the classic mistake of putting all his effort into his next punch, all Danny did was side step it and the momentum carried the large man the rest of the way to the ground.

Al took offence to this and took another swing at Danny, again he missed, unfortunately he had managed to get Danny's attention off Jonno for long enough that he was now back on his feet and Al had manoeuvred their prey so his back was slightly turned.

Jonno took the opportunity and grabbed Danny's left hand, which was closest to him and twisted it, hard. The seasoned cop kicked out, catching his assailant in his right knee, causing him to let go of his wrist, but it gave Al the opening he needed and he landed a vicious punch to the left side of Danny's face, catching him square on the cheek. Although not a skilled punch it had enough of an impact to spin Danny slightly which moved him into Jonno's line and he received a second blow to the same spot causing his vision to become blurred for a moment.

Al then took another swing catching him on the lower left side of his back, before Danny could move out of the way he hit again in the same place.

Danny is sure that they would have continued trying to beat him to a pulp, and, he conceded, may have even managed a few more blows before he got the upper hand again, but sirens in the distance had both tweedle dee and dum looking at one another and running off.

He didn't bother to run after them. The woman in his apartment building probably knew who they were so HPD could get them that way. He hurried back into his own apartment to get his badge in case the cops that were about to pull in didn't recognise him and tried to arrest him or something. That would just make his evening complete!

A patrol car pulled into the parking lot and he held his hands away from his body so that the officers in the vehicle could see he was unarmed.

"Sir, we received a report of a fight taking place here," the older, clearly more senior of the two men, stated.

"Yeah. Detective Danny Williams, 5-0," he held out his badge for inspection.

The older man took it, gave it the once over and handed it back, "Detective Williams, I'm Officer Iona and this is Officer Hale," he cast an appraising look over Danny, "Do you need an ambulance?"

"No, I'm fine, honestly," he insisted on seeing the two officers exchange doubtful looks, "I've had worse playing with my eight year old daughter." It was true, Grace had quite the kick if you happened to tickle her in the right, or maybe that should be wrong, spot.

Danny then told the officers what had happened. The two men nodded, made notes in their pads and went up to the apartment indicated while Danny returned to his now warm beer. Five minutes after the officers had gone upstairs they knocked on his door.

"We can't get her to talk to us. We've got your descriptions and we'll put out an APB, but…"

"They probably changed their clothes," finished Danny.

"We'll let you know if we catch them as you'll need to identify them."

"Thanks," Danny shook both men's hands then closed and locked the door behind them. How did this become his life? He went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, well damn, no wonder Officer Iona had asked if he needed an ambulance, one of the men must have been wearing a ring since he had a nice cut on his left cheek and his eye was starting to close over. He carefully cleaned the cut, put a small dressing on it and then went to his freezer and put some ice in a bag which he wrapped in a towel. He watched the rest of the game with it pressed to his left eye and cheek hoping that the swelling wouldn't be too bad in the morning.

- 5-0 -

Danny was woken by a nagging pain to his left side. He went to move and groaned, his back was aching and he had a headache too. Then he remembered why and swore colourfully.

Looking at his clock he noticed it was only 05:00 AM, he could get another couple of hours sleep, at least he could if the pain he was in would go away. Growling he dragged his body out of bed and into the bathroom. Turning on the light he grimaced at his reflection in the mirror.

His left eye was swollen shut and his left cheek was a deep red colour. There'd be no hiding that from the rest of his team. Danny decided to relieve himself and then take some Tylenol before going back to bed. It was only as he went to flush the toilet that he noticed there was blood in his urine.

'_Well shit, that can't be good!'_

He thought about what he could do, call Steve, go to the ER or go back to bed. Well he figured he'd do two of the three. After he'd washed his hands and taken the Tylenol he crawled back into bed, picked up his cell and called Steve. Since it was now nearing 05:30 AM the SEAL would either be already up and out for his morning run and swim or about to get up. He pressed #2 on his speed dial and got his voicemail.

"Steve, I won't be in today. Not feeling well. I'll call you later," he hung up the phone and replaced it on the table. Curling up slightly to try and ease the insistent pain in his side, he drifted back into a restless sleep.

- 5-0 -

Steve had just come out of the bathroom after cleaning his teeth. He was already dressed for his morning run. The cell phone on his nightstand beeped to let him know he had a message. When he heard that Danny wasn't going to be in he just shrugged his shoulders. He was sure if it was anything serious his partner would have told him.

Having completed his morning exercise routine Steve showered and then got in his truck to drive himself to the office.

When he entered the main area with the computer table Chin and Kono were already there. He informed them that Danny wouldn't be in and they agreed to call him at lunchtime to see if he needed anything.

They separated into their own offices having plenty of paperwork to complete and the first couple of hours passed without incident. That changed when Duke Lukela stepped into the office.

The three 5-0 members that were present stepped out of their individual offices to greet the man. He returned their greetings with a smile. Duke liked this team, they were hard working, loyal and they protected their own.

"Where's Danny?" Duke asked.

"Called in sick," Chin responded.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Officer Iona said he might have to."

"You lost me," replied Steve, clearly puzzled.

"You mean you didn't speak to him when he called in?"

"No, he left me a voicemail," Steve's gut was starting to churn, "What happened Duke?"

Duke filled them in on the events of the previous night, stunned that Danny hadn't informed any of his colleagues, his friends, what had happened.

"Of all the stupid… Why didn't he call me last night?" Steve scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"I'm sure he just figured he wouldn't bother you and would tell you all about it today," Chin tried to reassure his boss.

"Yeah, you did say his voicemail said he'd call you later, perhaps when he couldn't speak to you on the phone this morning he didn't want to tell you about it on a voicemail."

"So instead I find out about it second hand! No offence Duke, thanks for filling us in. I'm gonna head over to his apartment and check on him now."

Duke nodded, "Tell him to take care and to stay out of trouble!"

"I'm coming with you Steve," Chin followed him out of the office.

"Me too," Kono added keeping up with the two men.

- 5-0 -

Steve pulled up outside Danny's apartment building a short time later, got out of his truck and strode across the parking lot to his front door. He knocked and waited.

Inside Danny had still not been able to get much sleep. The pain in his side was persistent and so was his need to go to the bathroom. There was still blood in his urine and he figured if it was happening tomorrow he'd visit the doctor.

He was lying staring at his ceiling thinking he had better call Steve soon. It would be just his luck if someone from HPD mentioned last night to him in passing, if they did then the task force leader would not be a happy SEAL.

Clearly he was shit out of luck because there was a knock at the door, short and firm. He'd know that knock anywhere. Sighing he got up and walked slowly to the door, hurrying just made his side hurt worse, probably a pulled muscle. As he got nearer to the door he heard Kono's and then Chin's voices. Oh marvellous the whole gang was here to witness his humiliation.

"Steve, just give him a minute," Kono pulled his arm down to prevent him from knocking again.

"He's probably in bed and needs enough time to get to the door," Chin agreed.

They heard the lock turning and Danny's voice, "Chin's right, gimme a chance would ya!"

As soon as the door was open Danny turned around and headed back to his bed. He might as well be as comfortable as possible for the lecture that was coming his way as soon as they saw his face.

"Danny! What the hell happened last night? In fact don't bother because I already know. Duke told me. What I really want to know is why I had to find out from him…" Steve was cut off by Kono.

"Oh my god Danny!" she gasped as she caught sight of his face for the first time.

"Brah! Did you catch the licence plate of the car that hit you?" Chin exclaimed.

"No but I got the first names of the two guys," retorted Danny.

No sooner had Kono gasped than Steve was across the room assessing his friend's injuries. He gently lifted the dressing off Danny's left cheek to reveal the angry looking cut underneath.

"Duke said the woman that you helped refused to speak to the patrol officers last night."

"Yeah. I'm sure she knew them though," Danny looked at Chin and then back at his partner who was still watching him closely, "I'm fine Steve. It's just some bruises," Danny rested his hand on his partner's knee trying to reassure him. It might have worked better if he hadn't used his left hand. The moment he tried to squeeze his hand on Steve's knee he hissed in pain.

Steve gently took hold of his wrist to look at it and he could see a livid bruise that was shaped like fingers. Clearly this was the imprint of someone's hand as they had grabbed Danny.

"I think it's sprained," Steve informed him.

"Honestly, I hadn't even noticed. Between the thumping headache and pain in my left side…"

Before Danny had even completed the sentence Steve was up and lifting his t-shirt to have a look. "Damn it Danny. I'm taking you to the ER."

"That's not necessary…"

"No arguments. I want to be sure that your wrist is only sprained. That cut needs looking at as well and you've got some bad bruising here which could be affecting your kidneys."

Danny decided now was _not_ a good time to let slip the information about the blood in his urine. Unfortunately for Danny his partner could read him like a book and had noticed a glimpse of something on his face when he'd mentioned his kidneys.

"Something you're not telling me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Nope, nothing," Danny couldn't look him in the eye.

"Uh huh, wanna try that again, but this time look at me as you lie to me?"

Danny looked up and knew he'd never pull it off, "Fine. There's blood in my urine," his cheeks coloured.

"When were you gonna tell me that bit of crucial information?"

"Er, never if I could have avoided it. It's kinda personal!"

"Danny, I need to know these things when you're injured. Come on get something on your feet," he turned to Chin and Kono, "Go up to this woman's apartment and get her to tell you who these men are! I don't care how you do it."

"Steve…"

"No Danny. They injured my partner, I won't let that go."

Knowing this was an argument he would never win and kind of appreciating the concern, Danny let it go, "Oh if you find them. One will probably have a limp and the other one will probably have a black eye!"

Chin and Kono grinned as they left to do as they had been asked after extracting a promise that Steve would call them once they finished at the ER. Danny left the keys for the Camaro for Chin so that they had transport as they'd come with Steve.

- 5-0 -

Steve and Danny were sitting in a cubicle at Queens Medical Centre waiting for a doctor to come and give him the once over. Steve had insisted on staying with him to make sure he told the doctor everything and Danny really couldn't be bothered to argue about it.

They'd been waiting about twenty minutes when the curtain drew back to reveal the familiar face of Doctor Jensen.

"Well hello again Danny, Steve!"

If it wouldn't have been impolite Danny would have groaned, but his mother raised him better than that, "Doctor Jensen, how are you?"

"Better than you it would seem Danny! A cut on your left cheek, your left eye closed, swelling and bruising to your left wrist, bruising to your lower left back… Did I miss anything?" he raised a querying eyebrow.

"Blood in his urine," Steve pointed out helpfully.

"Alright, let's take a look at you then," Doctor Jensen proceeded to poke and prod Danny for a full fifteen minutes before giving his verdict, "OK, left wrist is sprained so you need to rest it for a couple of days, put ice on it for twenty minutes every three to four hours for the next forty eight hours, we'll put a bandage on for you and give you a sling to help keep it elevated as well. At night put some pillows under it. Next I need you to go and pee in this, please," Doctor Jensen handed Danny a urine sample bottle, "then when you get back I'll get a nurse to clean that cut thoroughly and put some strips over it, I don't think it needs stitches. I would suggest when you ice your wrist that you also put some on that cheek."

Danny nodded before disappearing down the hall into one of the bathrooms to fulfil the request to provide a urine sample. When he returned to the cubicle Doctor Jensen was still there waiting for it. Taking the sample he inspected it closely, much to Danny's discomfort and Steve's amusement.

"Well there doesn't appear to be too much blood in the urine. Still it does indicate bruising to your kidney. I recommend you drink plenty of water and bed rest for a week. If there is no longer blood in your urine then feel free to gradually build back up to normal activity, however if there are still signs of blood then you must rest until there isn't any. If the amount of blood increases then you must come back. You can continue to take Tylenol extra strength for the pain. Now Eve will sort out your cheek, wrap your wrist and put your arm in a sling for you," Doctor Jensen indicated the nurse standing next to him.

"Bed rest for a week?" Danny practically squeaked in shock.

"Yes Detective Williams, a week. Bruising to the kidney should not be taken lightly and the rest will get the bleeding under control. If the bleeding has stopped before the week is up then you can stop the bed rest after a few days but must otherwise still not over exert yourself. I don't have to explain what that means do I?"

"No, thanks Doctor Jensen," Danny smiled as the man shook his and Steve's hand before leaving.

"We'll swing by yours and pick up some stuff then you're coming back to mine," Steve informed his best friend as the nurse was patching him up.

"I'll be fine in my own apartment, in my own bed Steven."

"The doctor said you need rest, you're not going to do that if you're at home on your own."

"Well considering I've been side lined for at least a week there's not much you can do about that Steve. You'll be at work therefore I will be on my own no matter where I stay."

"If we haven't got a case then I can work from home and if a case comes in and I'm needed then I can go in as and when. My guest room bed is more comfortable as well."

Steve had a point there. He was sure after a couple of days he could persuade the SEAL to allow him to move onto the couch or out onto the decking for some fresh air.

"We'll see," Steve stated.

"Eh?" Danny was confused since he hadn't said anything.

"We'll see how you are in a few days. If you're doing alright then maybe you can lounge around on the couch or on the decking instead."

"Damn Super SEAL ninja tricks! Fine, I will stay at yours if it will make you happy."

"Good."

- 5-0 -

Steve called Chin as they left the hospital, putting the cell on speaker. Chin did the same so that Kono could hear the update on Danny's injuries. Once they had been informed of the situation and what was needed they offered to get some supplies for Steve and drop by the house with them later, which he gratefully accepted. He hadn't been expecting to have a house guest so was woefully unprepared food wise, especially when the guest was Danny who could eat more than his fair share.

Chin took great delight in relaying that the woman Danny had helped the previous night, her name was Marcia Duval, had provided them with the names they required after some gentle persuasion from Kono. HPD had successfully arrested them and were currently throwing the book at them.

"Thanks guys," Danny hadn't been worried about whether or not tweedle dee and dum were caught, but it was nice to know they were going to be given the punishment they so richly deserved.

"Hey, no problem brah, you're ohana," Chin replied.

"Now get back to Steve's and get going on that bed rest!" instructed Kono.

"Yes ma'am!"

"See you guys for dinner," Steve stated before ending the call.

An hour later Steve was ushering a tired and in pain Danny through his front door. He instructed his partner to take a seat on the couch and got him some water from the fridge and the Tylenol extra strength that they had bought. While Danny took those Steve carried his bag upstairs and quickly organised the guest room, putting on clean bedding and getting clean towels out to put in the bathroom on the opposite side of the hallway.

Coming back downstairs he encouraged Danny to get up from the couch and followed him upstairs. The injured man kicked his shoes off, freshened up in the bathroom, changed into clean sweatpants and crawled into bed after taking his sling off. Steve placed the bottle of water he'd been drinking on the bedside table.

"Don't forget, plenty of fluids. If you need anything just shout, no getting out of bed except to go to the bathroom," Steve gently reminded him. The last thing any of them wanted was to set his recovery back. "Hang on, be right back," Steve left the room and returned a couple of minutes later with another couple of pillows which he laid on the bed and then gently lifted Danny's injured wrist onto them.

"Thanks Steve. Sorry I didn't call you last night, I honestly didn't think it was that bad, I had every intention of telling you about it this morning when I got to the office. Then when I couldn't make it in I figured I'd tell you on the phone but got your voicemail. I was about to call you when you knocked."

"It's alright Danny. The main thing is you're going to be OK. Just get some rest," he patted his best friend on the leg. Steve left the room and headed downstairs.

Danny noted that he'd left the bedroom door open and smiled. He settled himself comfortably into the pillows and sighed. He may be in pain and tired, but he had his family to look out for him and knew that they would make his recovery as easy for him as they could. He closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep knowing he was safe and loved.

Injuries: Left side face swollen, eye shut, sprained left wrist, bruised left kidney


	3. C is for Crash

**Disclaimer: I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but I will anyway... I don't own Hawaii 5-0.**

**A/N: As always thanks for the reviews; alerts; favourites. They warm my heart and cheer me up no end! More fluff at the end. I just can't seem to help myself!**

**C is for Crash**

Danny Williams was a happy man. He had just spent the previous evening with his daughter, she had been allowed to stay with him overnight and now he was getting to drop her at school. The road he was on was quiet, it being earlier than normal for the school run. He had to be in the office early this morning to go with Steve to speak to a witness in their latest case so had arranged for Grace to attend a before school program for children whose parents needed to drop them off a little earlier.

Grace Williams was a happy little girl. She loved her Danno and getting to spend time with him during the week was always a treat.

"So, Monkey, what have you got on at school today?" Danny asked his daughter.

"Danno! I told you last night!" was the exasperated sounding response he got.

The man in question chuckled and looked at his daughter briefly in his rear view mirror, "You'll need to remind me, I'm getting old and then of course there's the fact that I work with your Uncle Steve. I'm sure working with him is killing my brain cells!"

The little girl rolled her eyes at her Dad's antics. She loved Uncle Steve. He had a great beach behind his house and she could go swimming there with him, "You're silly!"

Danny pulled the Camaro to a stop at a red light and glanced back at his daughter, giving her his patented 'Danno' grin before turning his attention back to the road, "Come on remind me," he insisted as the light turned green and he pulled into the intersection as he looked both ways, ever cautious with his precious cargo.

The moment he turned his head to the left he saw the truck coming at them and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. In the seconds before impact he slammed on his brakes, instinctively knowing that if he carried on the truck would likely strike the back of the Camaro and he couldn't let that happen even if Grace was sitting on the right side of the car, she could still be badly injured.

The sound of metal slamming into metal cut off any thoughts the Detective may have had as the truck and car collided and both were spun round, the truck was practically glued to the front left of the Camaro.

Both vehicles came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. Danny had remained conscious throughout and now was surrounded by an almost eerie silence before his brain caught up with the world. The truck's horn was sounding loudly in the quiet morning but Danny had only one thing on his mind, one person, "Grace?" he started to turn his head to look over his right shoulder but he was brought up short by a pain shooting down his neck and into his shoulders. He wanted to ignore it, to check on his baby girl but he physically couldn't. "Grace? Monkey, are you alright."

"Daddy?" Hearing his daughter's voice was a relief, but there was a tremble in it that caused his heart to constrict.

"It's alright Gracie. We've been in an accident but it's going to be alright. Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so," she let out a quiet sob.

"Monkey, I can't move to get to you," he had tried but his legs seemed to be pinned where the truck had pushed the side panel in, "I need you to stay still for me, can you do that?" he was worried that she might have suffered a spinal injury as he couldn't see the extent of any damage to either her or the car.

"Daddy…"

"Grace, I need you to listen to me. You need to promise me that you won't move, please."

She sniffed back her tears and did the only thing she could do, "I promise."

"Good girl. I'm going to call 911, then I'll call Uncle Steve," he managed to ease the phone out of his pocket, dial the emergency number and put the phone on speaker, he didn't think that he could hold the phone up to his ear with the pain shooting through his neck and shoulders.

When the call was answered Danny explained the situation and the dispatcher assured him that she would send out the necessary rescue services. She asked him to stay on the line but he had another important call to make. He couldn't be there for Grace in the way he wanted to right now, but he knew a Super SEAL that would break land speed records to get to her, and him, to help.

He pressed speed dial #2 on his cell, once again putting it on speaker.

- 5-0 -

Steve McGarrett was pacing the office waiting for his partner to arrive. He should have been there fifteen minutes ago but Steve had so far avoided calling the man to demand where he was since he knew that he had Grace to get to school.

Chin and Kono were at the computer table in their main office watching and exchanging glances that said quite clearly that neither of them was willing to stop their boss from his pacing.

Steve's cell rang and he pulled it out noting the name on the display, "Danny where the hell are you?"

Any other time Danny would have berated his partner for using language like that around his daughter, but given the circumstances and the fact Steve had no idea Grace was still in the car he let it slide, "Steve…"

There was something in the Detective's voice that set the Commander's gut churning and he quickly flipped his phone to speaker so that Chin and Kono could hear, "What's wrong Danny?"

"Been an accident…"

Kono used the computer to triangulate Danny's location as soon as Steve placed it on the table.

"Are you hurt?"

"Grace…"

"She's still with you?"

"Was on my way to drop her off. Called 911 but need you to…"

Danny didn't have to say any more, Kono had his location and the three team members were already on their way out the door, "We're on our way man, just stay on the phone. Are either of you hurt?"

"I'm fine but I'm pinned and can't check on Grace."

"I'm alright Danno," Grace's voice could be heard over the line, trembling but definitely her voice.

"Grace, we'll be with you soon OK?"

"OK Uncle Steve."

The rest of the team knew how much his little girl meant to Danny and if he was unable to get to her and see for himself that she was uninjured he must be going out of his mind with worry. Steve had also caught the slight tremble in his partner's voice and wasn't so convinced that Danny was as fine as he was saying.

They piled into Steve's truck and he tore out of the Palace parking lot like the devil was after him switching on lights and sirens as he did. There was no way he was stopping for traffic signals when Danny and his daughter needed him.

Kono kept up a stream of reassuring chatter with Grace as Steve concentrated on driving. They reached the crash scene within six minutes of receiving Danny's call. All three jumped out, Steve ran to the passenger side knowing Danny would want him to check Grace first, Chin went round to check on Danny and Kono went to check on anyone in the truck.

"Grace," Steve opened the front door and pulled the seat forward allowing him to lean in properly.

"Uncle Steve!"

"I need you to stay still for me alright?"

"Just like you promised me Monkey, remember?" Danny quickly reiterated, grateful that Grace now had someone to be with her, though he wouldn't be truly content until she was out of the car and declared fit and well.

"OK," she was crying and Steve felt his heart clench at the sight. He reached out and carefully took her tiny hand in his much larger one to reassure her he was there.

Chin had tried the door on the driver's side but because the truck had struck the front panel it had creased the door near the hinges preventing him from getting access. He had to settle with just talking to his friend through the smashed window.

"How you doing brah?"

"Worried about Grace," he replied quietly.

Looking into the back seat he couldn't see any external injuries, "She looks alright Danny. Steve's got her and he won't let her move until the EMTs have checked her out," Chin was aware that Danny hadn't even looked over his shoulder at Grace or over to him for that matter, he lowered his voice so that the little girl wouldn't hear, "Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Chin."

"Don't lie to me Danny. You can't move your neck can you?"

"Well I can but it hurts," he finally relented.

The sound of multiple vehicles with sirens going pulled into the intersection. The fire and rescue truck was followed by two ambulances. A couple of HPD cruisers shut down the intersection and diverted any traffic that was trying to get passed the scene.

One set of paramedics went to check on the truck and the other approached the Camaro. The fire-fighters were disconnecting the batteries on the vehicles to prevent any chance of a spark that might cause a fire, though this wasn't the movies and the chances of a car catching fire from this sort of impact was slim.

Steve and Chin spoke briefly to the EMTs that had arrived at the Camaro. Steve had moved to sit beside Grace to allow one of them to check her; the other went round to Danny to assess him.

A short time later the EMT with Grace and Steve declared that he could find no outward signs of injuries but he wanted to put her in a collar and take her to the hospital as a precaution.

Danny was listening as the EMT, who had introduced himself as Andy, explained to the little girl what was happening.

"Steve?"

The man leaned forward so he could see his partner, "Yeah Danny, I'm here, what's up?"

"Stay with Grace, please? Call when you have news."

"You don't need to ask, of course I will."

Danny could hear his daughter crying softly, "Grace…"

"Yes Danno," she replied quietly.

"You let Andy help you and do exactly as he says alright. Uncle Steve is going to stay with you."

"But I want you Daddy," she sobbed.

"I know Monkey, but I can't be with you right now. I'm kind of stuck here and it's gonna take a little longer for me to get out. You trust Uncle Steve don't you?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Good girl, so do I, but I also need you to look after him for me. Can you do that? Don't let him flirt with any of those nurses at the hospital or annoy any of the doctors!"

"Hey!"

Grace giggled slightly at the look on her Uncle's face, "I can do that for you Danno."

"Thank you Gracie," Danny sighed with relief to hear the little giggle and he also felt his partner's hand squeeze his forearm gently, "Danno loves you."

"I love you too."

Andy secured a collar on the child and with Steve's assistance removed her slowly from the car and strapped her to a gurney. She held on to her Uncle's hand tightly as they moved into the ambulance.

"Now are you going to let me look at you?" Jacob, the EMT standing by Danny's window asked. The whole time Grace had still been in the car the man hadn't let him do more than a cursory examination.

"Knock yourself out."

Jacob walked round the car to the passenger side and put the seat back allowing him better access to his patient. "Can someone please pass me a collar," he called out over his shoulder.

"Here you go Jake," a female EMT appeared behind him.

"Thanks Amana," Jake smiled at her.

"Andy has gone with Grace so figured you'd need a hand. Jim has the driver from the truck and is transporting him."

"How is he?" asked Danny.

"Minor injuries, he'll be just fine," responded Amana, "How about we just concentrate on you for now?"

"I'm going to put the collar on now Danny, it should help some with that neck pain. Then I'm going to give you a little oxygen and put in an IV for some pain relief," once he'd done that he spoke again, "Going to need to speak to the fire chief and sort out how we're getting you outta here, I'll be right back."

Danny watched as Chin, Jacob and the man he presumed to be the fire chief stood talking. A day that had started out great had turned into a pile of steaming dog turd. Grace was on her way to hospital with a neck collar on and strapped to a gurney, his second love, his Camaro, was probably trashed and he was stuck waiting for other people to get him out of said vehicle.

It seemed that the men had come to some agreement about how to extract Danny from this latest of disasters and Jacob returned, "Alright, they're going to cut off the door and then we can assess the best way to free your legs."

Twenty minutes later his door was gone and the fire-fighters had managed to somehow free his legs, which it had been established weren't actually pinned so much as there just wasn't enough space for him to manoeuvre them. Danny was a bit hazy on the how despite Jacob talking him through everything that was done.

Then came the worst part of all as far as Danny was concerned, they wanted to put him on a back board but would have to be gentle about how they moved him in case he had spinal injuries. Initially they had been going to cut the roof off the Camaro but following an assessment of where his patient had feeling Jacob thought that might be overkill in this case. Between Jacob, Amana and several fire-fighters they managed to get him onto the back board without too much trouble.

Danny had remained detached and pretty much numb through the whole thing. His thoughts were only of Grace. He answered any question directed at him but other than that he was silent. Chin had expressed his concerns over this to Jacob and he promised to keep a close eye on Danny.

They had just laid Danny on the gurney when Chin's cell rang, "Kelly."

"Chin, its Steve, how's Danny?"

"They just finished getting him out, we're about to leave the scene."

"Put me on speaker."

Chin pressed the appropriate button, "You're on."

"Danny?"

"Steve, how's Grace?"

"Doctor Jensen says there are no broken bones, just some bruising. She's currently sitting up and talking with one of the nurses. Rachel's on her way too."

"Shit, forgot about calling Rachel."

"Hey, you had other things on your mind."

"Can I speak to Grace?" Danny waved away Jacob's insistence that they get moving.

"Yeah, just a second."

"Danno?"

"Hey Monkey!"

"I'm not hurt."

"I know Uncle Steve just told me, I'm so glad babe."

"Are you alright Daddy?"

"I'm fine now I know you're going to be alright," Danny's eyes started to tear up with relief. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with a feeling of dizziness and nausea.

Chin snatched the phone away seeing his friend pale significantly and Jacob quickly placed the oxygen mask back over his patient's face, instructing him to take deep breaths.

"Daddy? Daddy?"

Hearing Grace starting to get a little agitated Steve took the phone from her, "Danny?"

"Boss, they're loading him up and we're heading in."

"Is everything alright?"

"He became nauseous and dizzy. Jacob says his blood pressure is low, he thinks Danny's in shock," Chin climbed into the back of the ambulance having told Kono to take Steve's truck and meet him at the hospital, "We'll be at the hospital in ten minutes."

"Alright, I'll be waiting," Steve disconnected the call and looked into the big brown watering eyes of Danny's eight year old daughter, "Hey, what's this?" He pulled her gently into his arms.

"Daddy wouldn't answer me."

Steve knew Danny didn't lie to his daughter so he had to tell her the truth, or at least a condensed version, "Your Dad was so relieved to hear about you being alright that he got a little bit dizzy. It's alright Chin is with him and they're coming in, you'll be able to see him soon."

Grace nuzzled further into Steve's embrace and he sat down on the bed with her and settled her in his lap rocking her gently until he felt her relax against him as she fell asleep. That was how Rachel found them when she rushed into the room a short time later. Although desperate to hold her daughter she didn't want to wake her so perched on the bed next to the SEAL and contented herself with placing a hand gently on the back of her slumbering daughter.

- 5-0 -

Doctor Jensen greeted Danny as he was wheeled into trauma, "Hello again Danny! What have you been up to _this_ time?"

"Car accident," the response was muffled through the oxygen mask that was still in place.

Jacob gave a quick rundown on his patient's vitals and potential injuries before disconnecting Danny from the EMT paraphernalia to allow him to be hooked up to the ER's instead, "Take it easy Danny," he called out as he left.

Danny waved his hand in response before turning his attention back to his doctor wondering if he was going to be able to talk him into allowing him out of the uncomfortable neck brace he was in. The next words out of Doctor Jensen's mouth thwarted that idea.

"Alright, collar stays on until we have x-rays," the doctor efficiently checked the rest of Danny for injuries, paying close attention to both his legs.

A nurse that Danny didn't recognise took another set of vitals from him and handed them over to the doctor which in turn caused him to frown.

"Danny, your temperature is a bit on the low side so we're going to put a warming blanket over you to help with that," he turned to the nurse and gave her further instructions, "I want another litre of saline hung, his blood pressures still low and keep that oxygen on him until his O2 stats come back up," she nodded and went off to collect some more fluids.

"What's going on? Can I see Grace?" Danny managed to ask.

"You're in shock Danny. These are just measures to help stabilise you."

"Shock?"

"Yes, psychological shock. You had quite a scare this morning and your body is presenting physical symptoms to the psychological stress. Once your vitals level off we'll get those x-rays, I want you to just rest for now and let the nurses know if you're in any pain."

"Can I see Grace?"

"If I let her in to see you will you rest?"

"Yes."

The doctor gave a long suffering sigh and left the room. He returned a short while later with a sleepy Grace latched firmly to Steve and Rachel following, "Alright this is against my better judgement. Grace wouldn't let go of Steve and her mother wouldn't, naturally, leave Grace so I'm letting all three of them in for a few moments then I expect you to rest," he turned to the visitors, "A few minutes and don't upset him or over excite him please!"

Steve carried Grace over to the bed and sat down on a chair with her in his lap, Rachel stood next to him with her hand resting on Grace's head.

"Hey Monkey."

"You sound funny."

Danny lifted his hand and removed the mask, "Is this better?"

"A little, you're kind of slurring your words."

"That'll be the good painkillers Gracie," Steve grinned.

"Detective Williams put the mask back on or I'll get Doctor Jensen back in here!" The strident voice of one of the nurses advised.

Danny grimaced but did as he was told. The nurse was bad enough but a lecture from Doctor Jensen was not high on his list of priorities at that moment.

"How are you doing partner?"

"I'm fine."

"Fine? What do you think Grace?"

"I don't think he's fine Uncle Steve."

"You're ganging up on me with Super SEAL now huh?" Danny pointed from his daughter to his partner.

"You're not fine Daddy. You're in hospital, but Doctor Jensen says you will be fine and Uncle Steve has said that he'll take care of you and Mommy said I can come and visit you…"

"Take a breath Gracie," Danny smiled indulgently.

"Grace we should let your father rest now, you can see him again later. Daniel, we will be back once the doctor is allowing visitors."

"Thanks Rachel."

Steve held Grace so she was hanging over her father's head and could plant a kiss on his temple then he handed her over to Rachel and watched as they left, "How are you really?"

"Glad that Grace is OK. Thank you for staying with her, she was so scared and I couldn't do anything…."

"Hey, Doctor Jensen said no getting upset. She's fine and you're welcome. Now you need to concentrate on you. Doc says that you're suffering from shock and multiple contusions on your legs."

"Yeah. I wish they'd take this collar off and this oxygen mask. Damn uncomfortable!"

"We'll be sending you for your x-rays shortly Danny, if they're clear we'll remove the collar. The mask can be swapped now for a nasal cannula," Doctor Jensen advised as he walked into the room giving the latest vitals the once over.

"Hey, how's the other driver?"

Steve scowled, "Fine."

"Steven?"

"He had minor lacerations and a broken nose from where the airbag deployed in his face. Least he deserves if you ask me!"

"Care to elaborate?"

"He was drunk Danny, twice the legal limit!"

"It wasn't even eight in the morning!" Danny was stunned. Some lowlife could have killed someone because they were drunk before 08:00 AM!

"That's enough, Danny, I thought I was clear when I said no getting upset?" Doctor Jensen cut in.

Taking the hint Steve left his partner to return to the waiting room. Chin and Kono needed to be told what was happening and he wanted to find out what the situation was with the driver of the truck that had hit the Camaro.

- 5-0 -

Several hours later Danny was being released into the tender loving care of Steve, though Danny's words for it were a lot less polite. His x-rays were clear and his vitals had stabilised so there was no need for him to stay in hospital, however he had whiplash and some nasty bruises over his legs. He wouldn't be able to drive and would struggle with simple everyday things while his neck was so stiff he could barely move it, hence the recuperation time required at McGarrett's home.

Steve unlocked the front door and ushered Danny in, dropping his bag that they had collected from his apartment at the foot of the stairs. He was just settling Danny into his recliner with plenty of cushions to support his injured neck when there was a knock at the door, followed by it opening and the voices of the 5-0 cousins calling out.

"Come in," Steve called back.

The pair entered the living area with three boxes of pizza, some beer and soda. Within minutes the four team mates, come dysfunctional family members, were all eating. Kono sorted out a plate for Danny so he didn't have to get up.

As they finished and the detritus of the meal was cleared away Danny groaned, which immediately led to three concerned friends hovering asking him what was wrong.

"I was just thinking about the fact I have to contact my insurance company."

"Don't worry about it brah," Chin told him.

"Don't worry about it? It's my only mode of transport. It's what I use to get my little girl. It's what I use to get me to work, when my Neanderthal partner isn't driving it of course!"

"Danny you won't be able to drive for a while…"

"Thanks for pointing that out, sensitive Super SEAL!"

"By the time you can drive again it will all be sorted," Steve ignored Danny's interruption. He had an idea that this wasn't what was upsetting his friend.

"Don't suppose you could get your hands on a tank for me Super SEAL?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"It's either that or I wrap Grace up in cotton wool and lock her in the house!"

"It wasn't your fault Danny, the guy was drunk!"

"Doesn't change the fact that my daughter, my reason for being, could have been killed Steven!"

The Navy SEAL perched on the arm of the chair and rested a hand on Danny's shoulder and Chin did the same on his other side while Kono knelt on the floor and rested her hands on his knees.

"Danny, you can't keep Grace away from every danger out there. You know that!"

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

"You know that we'll all do everything we can to protect her," Chin stated.

"I know but…"

"There's no but here brah. What happened today was an accident. It was out of your control," Kono gently reminded him.

"I…"

"Danny, sometimes bad stuff happens to good people. Whatever happens, to you, to Grace, to any of this team, we'll be here for one another," assured Steve.

Sighing, Danny knew that he was being irrational. There were dangers out there worse than a drunk driver, but Kono was right, it was an accident. He would just have to accept that there were some things he couldn't protect Grace from.

"Thanks," Danny said softly.

The other three nodded before moving to give him some space. Steve turned on the TV and they watched a rerun of an old cop show. It was clear Danny still wasn't quite himself as he failed to comment on the lack of proper procedure but the main thing was that he and Grace weren't badly hurt. They'd get him through his recovery and back behind the wheel because that's what ohana does.


	4. D is for Defenestration

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything. Really, nothing at all, let alone Hawaii 5-0.**

**A/N: Again thank you so much for the alerts and the reviews. I wanted to post one more chapter to this story before going into hospital tomorrow as it's possible it will be Monday or Tuesday before I am up to spending long enough on the laptop to post again. I hope this will hold you over till then!**

**D is for Defenestration **

"Remind me what we're doing here again?" Danny asked his boss and partner Steve.

The man in question rubbed his hand through his hair in frustration having already provided this information to Danny, "HPD received an anonymous tip about a body in this building," he pointed at the four storey, abandoned office building where they'd just pulled up.

"Again, what has that got to do with 5-0?"

"Apparently when HPD swept the building and found the body they also found graffiti on the wall stating 'tell 5-0', so HPD called us to come and take a look. Can we just get this over and done with so we can get back to the Palace?"

Danny was about to respond when the other half of their team got out of the vehicle that had just pulled in behind them. He waved to Chin and Kono before approaching the officer that appeared to be in charge. Pulling out his badge he introduced himself, "Detective Williams, 5-0. What ya got?"

"DB on the second floor," he opened his notebook and read off the information he'd noted, "Gunshot wound to the temple. Only ID he had on him was a name badge, says his name is Akoni Hale, but we can't confirm that as there's no photo. Coroner's on his way."

"Wait, did you say Akoni Hale?"

"Yeah," the officer showed Danny the badge that had been placed in an evidence bag.

"Danny?" Steve asked, appearing by his right shoulder.

"I know this kid. I busted him while I was working at HPD for possession. It was his first offence, he was a good kid, just going through a hard time, didn't give me any trouble so I spoke to the DA and he got probation. I kept in touch with him and helped him find a job through a relative of Meka's at this auto shop, kid was interested in cars," he indicated the name badge which had the business' logo on it.

"When was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Last Wednesday. I was supposed to go and see him yesterday but we got caught up with the drug bust so I had to cancel on him."

"Alright, look we need to go up and have a look at the scene, you OK to do that?"

"Yeah."

Turning back to the officer he queried, "Has the building been cleared Officer Kellan?"

"Yes Sir."

"We need to check the whole building Steve. There could be some evidence of what was going on here on one of the other floors. Why don't I take the second floor since I can ID the victim?"

"You sure Danny?"

"I need to see for myself."

"OK. I'll take the third; Chin you take the fourth and Kono take the first floor. Officer Kellan, please keep the perimeter clear."

"Which room is the, er, body in?" asked Danny.

"Third room on the left," Officer Kellan replied.

The team entered the building, put on gloves and split up. Steve gave Danny's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he left him at the landing for the second floor and carried on up the stairs with Chin. He received a nod in response letting him know that his partner was going to be alright.

Danny stepped off the landing into the corridor of the second floor. There were four rooms on each side, all the doors were open. Figuring he might as well be methodical, the body wasn't going anywhere, he started with the first door on his left. The room looked like any other office space, except there was dust and no electronic equipment. There were four desks in the centre with several filing cabinets pushed up against the wall to the right of the door. Danny moved over to the cabinets and opened the drawers confirming they were all empty. He carried out the same checks with the drawers under the desks. There was nothing, so he moved on to the next room.

Twenty fruitless minutes later, having found the same thing in each of the other rooms he'd searched so far, exactly the same layout, everything covered in layers of dust, Danny finally stepped in to the room with the body.

Stepping over the threshold he took a deep breath. This room was different as there were no desks or filing cabinets. The room was empty apart from the body which was lying on its front near the wall to the left of the door. On the wall directly behind where the body was were the words, 'tell 5-0'. Looking closer, putting off the inevitable of having to look at the empty eyes of a teenager, Danny noted the words had been written in black paint. Probably run of the mill stuff at that, which would mean there would likely be no leads there. He'd make sure the crime scene team took a scraping anyway.

Finally having looked around the room, everywhere but at the body, Danny squatted next to it and got his first good look at the face of the dead man.

"What the hell?" Danny went to pull out his phone but heard a noise behind him which led to him reaching for his holstered weapon instead, releasing the safety as he did, before he could bring it fully to bear he was slammed to the floor, the gun went off as the impact jolted the detective's hand causing his finger to squeeze the trigger and then the gun skittered across to the other side of the room as his assailant wrestled the weapon from him.

"_At least that'll warn the others that there's a suspect on scene," _Danny managed to think to himself.

The man that had tackled him was about to slam his fist into Danny's face, but using moves Super SEAL would be proud of Danny got out of the way so that the only impact the fist made was with the floor. Before the other man could fully recover from the shock Danny had made it to his feet and was backing up to where his gun had fallen near one of the two large picture windows, still trying to keep his eye on the other man while reaching for his weapon.

Incensed, Danny's would be attacker seemed to throw all logic and caution to the wind and ran at the detective, catching him with his shoulder in his sternum.

Danny didn't have time to step out of the way and the momentum knocked him off his feet, into the window which shattered from the impact.

- 5-0 -

Steve had found nothing of interest on the third floor. Each of the rooms had desks and filing cabinets, each of which he had thoroughly searched.

Deciding to give up and let the crime scene team see if they could come up with any fingerprints or DNA that might be useful he started to leave when a gunshot rang out from the floor below.

"Danny!" Steve took off at a run and took the stairs three at a time trying to get to his partner.

- 5-0 -

Chin wasn't having any luck with his search of the fourth floor. He'd found piles of rubbish, probably from where homeless people had squatted in the building at one time or another, whether that was recently or not remained to be seen.

The crime scene team would go over it more thoroughly when they arrived. Chin figured he'd head on down to the second floor and see how Danny was getting on. He had just made it to the third floor landing when he heard the gunshot come from the floor below and Steve barged passed him in the stairwell.

"Danny!" Chin followed Steve down the stairs.

- 5-0 -

Kono looked around the empty rooms of the first floor. Despite them being empty she had been very thorough not wanting to miss anything that might be pertinent. It was becoming clear that there was nothing here to find.

Hearing vehicles pulling up outside the building she looked out the window to see the crime scene unit arrive. She decided that she would be best served going out and briefing them on what they knew so far before sending them up to the second floor to meet with Danny.

"Hey Charlie," she greeted the crime scene tech.

Charlie was about to respond when a gunshot was heard. Kono quickly herded the crime scene techs back behind the vehicles. She was about to run back into the building when she heard the sound of breaking glass and watched in abject horror as two bodies came tumbling out of a second floor window and landed with a resounding thud on the pavement.

There was a moment of utter stillness from the people that had witnessed the event, everyone frozen in a tableau of horror. Kono was the first to shake free from it and she ran forward, weapon ready, neither man was moving and she could see one of those men was Danny.

"Danny!" Kono pressed her fingers to his neck and was relieved to feel a pulse, even if it wasn't as strong as she'd like it to be. She looked up at a sound above her to see Steve and Chin looking down at them, "He's alive," both men disappeared from the window and she knew they'd be by her side in no time.

Kono checked the pulse on the other man, there wasn't one. She wasn't really surprised as the man had taken the brunt of the landing. He was sprawled on his back, a pool of blood under his head and Danny was draped across him.

"EMT's are on their way," Officer Kellan advised as he approached her.

"I thought you said the scene was clear!" She yelled at him.

"It was. We swept the whole building," he defended himself.

"Clearly it wasn't!"

Chin came up behind his cousin and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Let's concentrate on helping Danny," he spoke softly and calmly, but his eyes were filled with fear and concern.

Steve knelt on the other side of his partner trying to assess his injuries. The man in question startled everyone when he groaned.

"Danny?"

"What the hell fell on me?" was the muffled response as he went to move.

"Stay still Danny, you just took a dive out of a second storey window!" Steve rested his hand lightly on the detective's shoulder. He didn't know where he could safely touch.

"Now why would I do that?"

"I think it might have something to do with the man you're lying on brah," Chin supplied.

"What?" Danny clearly wasn't quite with them yet. Kono was worried that when his brain caught up with the situation he'd try to move so she placed her hand on his other shoulder. Chin also placed his hands on his friend's legs. "Man I'm lying on, what are you talk…?" the moment he realised he was, indeed, lying on top of another body he started to try to push away. The firm hands of his team mates put paid to that idea.

"You have to keep still Danny. You could have a spinal injury or internal bleeding!" Steve growled.

"I'm fine. Just a little dazed. I really don't want to be lying on top of some strange man," then another thought occurred to him, "Is he alive?"

"No," Kono informed him.

Danny struggled once again but still his team mates wouldn't allow him to move, "Come on, I'm lying on top of a man, a dead, strange man!"

"I don't care! You're not risking a spinal injury because you're uncomfortable with the idea of lying on top of a man!" Steve wasn't in the mood. Danny had just shaved ten years off his life and he wasn't sure that he wouldn't be taking more if he was seriously injured.

"A dead man Steven! Dead!"

"Actually he probably saved your life," Kono pointed out helpfully.

"Really. Not. Helping." Danny ground out. They were saved from further arguments by the arrival of the EMTs.

Jake knelt down by his patient after asking Kono to move, "Hey Danny, what happened?"

"Fell out a window. Can I move now?"

"Fell?"

"Out a window," Steve nodded, pointing up, "Second storey to be precise."

"Then no, you definitely can't move! Andy, let's get a collar and a backboard ready," Jake instructed his partner before thoroughly assessing his patient. He established that Danny had multiple lacerations from falling through the glass, including a rather large piece embedded in his right arm. After asking the right questions he established that Danny had a loss of sensation in his legs so they would have to immobilise him before they transported him to Queens Medical Centre.

Andy quickly inserted a needle in the back of Danny's left hand allowing him to get an IV going with some pain relief and fluids. Their patient wasn't complaining of any pain but he was willing to bet that was related to the fact that he was still in shock and hadn't yet moved. He packed a dressing around the glass in Danny's arm to ensure it didn't move and then the EMTs quickly secured a collar round his neck and with the assistance of the rest of 5-0 they carefully manoeuvred him on to a backboard and secured him to a gurney.

Once Danny was lying on his back they could see the extent of the cuts marring his face. Jake did a quick check of his abdomen to see if there were any signs of internal bleeding.

"How you doing there Danny?" asked Andy. His patient had gone very quiet considering how loud he was being when they arrived.

"Peachy!" He rasped his breathing shallow.

Andy ignored the sarcasm and placed an oxygen mask over Danny's face, earning a glare from the injured man, "Your stats are low, need to bring 'em up!" he said by way of an explanation.

Danny wouldn't admit it, but he was starting to feel afraid. As long as he was lying on top of the man he had that to distract him, now he was on the gurney and it was clear to him something wasn't quite right with his legs. He couldn't feel them anymore. They had been tingly before but now there was nothing.

There was something else bugging him, something he needed to tell Steve, but he was damned if he could remember what it was right at that moment.

"Are you going to ride with us Steve?" Jake asked the now familiar head of 5-0. He'd treated members of this team too many times to not be on a first name basis with them.

"Yeah," Steve turned to Chin and giving him Danny's keys, "Here take the Camaro and I'll see you at the hospital."

Chin nodded before assisting the EMTs to load the gurney. Once Steve was in he closed the doors and gave a knock to let Andy know that he was safe to leave.

Kono and Chin spoke briefly with Charlie and then left to go to the hospital. Chin driving the Camaro and Kono driving Chin's SUV.

- 5-0 -

Doctor Henry Jensen was waiting in the ER on Danny's arrival, "Danny, we really have to stop meeting like this! What have you been up to this time?"

"He took a header out of a second storey window," Steve told the doctor.

"Seriously?"

"Thank you Steven, I can speak," Danny stated irritably, "I was tackled by a suspect and fell out of the window, landing on said suspect, who incidentally, is dead."

"Alright, Jake, Andy trauma three please, Steve, you know the drill, paperwork is at the desk," Doctor Jensen followed the EMTs so that he could listen to their report of his patient's vitals.

The medical team in trauma three carefully transferred Danny from the EMT's gurney onto a bed. Both EMTs wished Danny well before taking their leave.

"Let's take a look at you then. Any tenderness here?" Doctor Jensen pressed on various parts of Danny's abdomen. Receiving a response in the negative he moved on to test his reflexes and feeling in his legs. "Can you feel this? Or this?" He pressed on various parts of Danny's legs. "OK. Now let me just take a look at your head, need to ensure no concussion," once more Danny submitted to being poked and prodded, followed the doctor's fingers as instructed and just generally did as he was told for once.

"Eve, can you contact radiology and request an MRI slot for Danny please," he requested of the nurse nearest him, "While we wait for that Danny we're going to clean these cuts on your face and arms, remove any glass and stitch up any large gashes."

Doctor Jensen was surprised by how amenable Danny was being. In fact he was worried by his patient's silence but decided to wait a little longer before questioning it. It took forty minutes to remove the glass and clean the numerous cuts on Danny's face and arms, another ten to remove the glass from his upper right arm. Despite the number of cuts the only one that actually required stitching was the one on his arm, which required eighteen stitches. The other cuts were sealed with butterfly strips. It left Danny's face looking a little strange as there appeared to be more butterfly strips in some areas than skin.

Danny had been lying complacently throughout the arduous task but suddenly it was like someone had flipped a switch in his brain and he was very aware of his surroundings. He felt the stinging pain all over his face and his arms, the lack of feeling in his legs but most of all he remembered what he needed to tell Steve.

"I need to speak to Steve!" He blurted suddenly.

"When you've had your MRI we'll allow your team back to see you…."

"No, I need to speak to Steve now, it's important."

"Danny…"

"Doctor Jensen, please."

Knowing his patient well Doctor Jensen decided it was easier to acquiesce to the request and then Danny would be a lot more pliant when it came to having his MRI, "Fine. Eve, can you ask Commander McGarrett to step in here for a few minutes please? It's just for a few minutes Danny. You'll be going for your MRI soon."

Eve went to the waiting room to get Steve and Danny nodded in agreement. He needed to tell Steve this piece of information while he remembered. He didn't know what the hell was going on, but he knew this would help the rest of his team.

Steve stepped into the room a couple of minutes later, "Hey Danny, how are you doing?" the nurse had told him that his partner had been quite insistent that he see him right away.

"Steve, the body wasn't Akoni Hale's," Danny told his partner, ignoring his question completely.

"Say again?" Steve wondered if Danny was in denial or perhaps confused.

"It wasn't Akoni Hale. I had just bent down to look at the body, realised it wasn't him. I went to get my phone from my pocket when I heard a noise, I went for my gun instead but wasn't quick enough…"

"So if it wasn't Akoni Hale, then who was it?"

"I don't know. I'd never seen him before."

"Alright, I'll get hold of Max and see if he's checked the fingerprints on either DB yet. Now, I want you to listen to Eve and Doctor Jensen. I'll see you when you get back from your MRI, OK?"  
>"Yeah," Danny replied. He still hadn't asked about the lack of feeling in his legs. He'd seen Doctor Jensen enough to know that he'd tell him when he knew what was going on and not before.<p>

Steve squeezed Danny's left arm and left the room, hurrying towards the waiting area so he could speak to Chin and Kono about this new development.

Danny was whisked off for his MRI a few minutes later after being given an additional dose of pain medication to help him rest as the scan would probably take the best part of an hour. Lying in the tube, luckily he wasn't claustrophobic; Danny closed his eyes and let his mind drift. He couldn't sleep with the noise of the machine but at least he could try to relax.

- 5-0 -

Steve, Chin and Kono were allowed into the trauma room to stay with Danny while Doctor Jensen went over the results of the MRI.

"What did Max say?" asked Danny as soon as they entered.

"The DB in the building was a Kai Mahoe. The body was stolen from a mortuary yesterday before they had time to embalm or otherwise prepare the body."

"Stolen from a mortuary?"

"Yeah. The DB that was kind enough to break your fall…"

"After attacking me!"

"After attacking you," agreed Chin. "Was identified as Lui Kama…"

"I recognise that name."

"Yeah, you arrested him your first week with HPD for possession with intent to sell marijuana."

"I remember. He was sentenced to a year in juvie. He was sixteen at the time, had too much on him for it to be for personal use and the judge wanted to make an example of him. According to his mother he'd gone completely off the rails and nothing she did helped. She was hoping that some time in juvie would straighten him out."

"That didn't work out so well," stated Kono sadly.

"He lost a full ride football scholarship," sighed Danny.

"I'm also told he threatened you after he was sentenced."

"Yeah, told me he'd get me when he got out. It was trash talk from a teenager…" Danny paused, "Wait just a minute. Are you trying to tell me that Kama stole a body from the mortuary, planted Akoni's nametag on the body and then lured 5-0 to the scene with the express desire to get back at me?"

"That's what it looks like brah," Chin told him.

"Well…" Danny didn't quite know what to say. It was a ridiculous set up. There was no guarantee that Danny would attend the scene, that he would be the one to enter that room, on his own no less. It just didn't make sense to Danny, "Damn!"

"We don't know if he intended to just upset you with the idea of Akoni's death and then just took advantage of the situation when you happened to appear on your own or whether he just intended to attack whoever walked into that room. In fact, from speaking to his Mom, he was suffering from some kind of breakdown so more than likely wasn't thinking logically at all."

"How did he get on scene once HPD had cleared it?"

"There was an unlatched window on the first floor round the side, we think he climbed in through that after HPD left the scene and called us in. Officer Kellan stated that once it was cleared they left someone on the back and front doors, there was no way they could have known that anyone was going to return to the scene and use a window to get in."

"Well… Damn!"

"You said that already!"

"I just, well, I can't believe it," Danny ran his hand through his hair. Wincing as his hand found some glass that had been caught in it.

"It's not your fault Danny. Lui had mental health issues and nobody could have predicted what he would do."

"Now he's dead and I could be paralysed."

A silence descended on the room for a moment, nobody quite knowing what to say. It was the first time that Danny had acknowledged the lack of feeling in his legs, though Doctor Jensen had told the rest of the team about it while Danny had his MRI.

"It'll be alright Danny," Steve said quietly, trying to reassure his best friend.

"Will it Steve? Really? You don't know that…"

"No, but I do," interrupted Doctor Jensen as he entered the room, "I've gone over your MRI. There are no breaks of your vertebrae but there is some swelling around your spinal cord because of the bruising you've suffered. We're going to keep you here and give you medication to help reduce the swelling and you are going to need to rest."

"But he'll get all feeling and movement back?" Kono asked hopefully.

"I can see no reason why not if Danny does everything he's told."

"How long will he have to stay in for?"

"That really depends on how quickly the swelling goes down, but he's unlikely to be discharged for at least a few days and then he'll need assistance. This will not be a quick process even once the swelling goes down. Danny will require physiotherapy to help regain his range of motion."

Steve looked worriedly over at his still silent partner. He thought Danny would be happy but he looked anything but, "Danny?"

"I'm OK. Just trying to take it all in."

Steve wasn't convinced but let it slide for now, "What happens now?"

"We're going to move him to a room where he'll be able to get some rest. I've scheduled another MRI for the day after tomorrow but Danny will likely be the first person to know when the swelling goes down."

Doctor Jensen directed the three mobile 5-0 team members to the third floor where Danny's room had been prepared and instructed them to stay in the waiting room until a nurse came to get them.

- 5-0 -

Danny was settled into a room with a minimum amount of fuss. His nurse for the rest of that day would be Akela. Kono would be pleased since she'd taken quite a liking to him when Danny had been admitted for monitoring following a fall in his bathroom that had caused a concussion. Danny on the other hand wasn't so pleased since they hadn't really got along very well last time. Mind you he was being woken regularly and he was exhausted so he figured he could be forgiven for being a little grouchy!

"Alright Danny, your friends are waiting to see you," the nurse told him once he was settled, "Are you ready to see them?"

"OK."

Akela nodded and went to the waiting area to retrieve the rest of his team. He instructed them not to tire Danny out and to press the call button if they needed anything.

The team walked into the room and found Danny just staring at the ceiling. In all fairness there wasn't a great deal more he could do since he couldn't move his legs and had been told in no uncertain terms he was to rest.

"Did someone call Rachel?" asked the injured Detective.

"Yeah, she said she'll come by with Grace after school," Steve smiled thinking this would be the news that would pull Danny out of his funk. He was wrong.

"She shouldn't see me like this."

"Like what Danny? You're just lying in a bed with an IV in your hand. You're not even on oxygen anymore," Chin was worried by his friend's flat response to his daughter's visit.

"I don't want her seeing me when I can't move my legs, it'll frighten her!"

Steve looked knowingly at the man he considered a brother, "Are you worried that she'll be scared or is it that _you _are scared?"

Danny said nothing and continued to look at the ceiling. He loved his daughter so much but if she saw him in bed unable to move his legs… how would she react? What would she think of her Danno then? A single tear slipped out from under his now closed eyelids. He felt a finger gently brush it away, when he opened his eyes he saw Kono looking back at him, her dark brown eyes full of compassion and understanding.

"Grace will not think any less of you because your legs aren't functioning as they normally would! Even, god forbid, if it was permanent. That little girl loves you for you, not because you have two legs that work or not!"

"I could have died today," he stated solemnly.

"Yeah, you could have. Same as any other day brah, but you didn't. You're alive, with a pretty spectacular tale to tell your grandkids one day!" Chin told him with a small smile.

"Hey! Grace is only eight and she's not dating until she's at least thirty! I don't even want to _think _about her having kids of her own! Thank you very much!" Danny's hands had started flailing in his characteristic, and yes, now much loved, way during this small protest.

"Why don't you get some rest? Grace won't be here for a couple of hours. We'll go back to the Palace and wrap things up then swing by again tonight. How's that?"

"Bring food."

"You got it," Steve agreed.

"And _not_, I repeat _not_, pizza with pineapple on it!"

Oh yeah, Danny was starting to come to terms with what had happened to him today. He was getting back to his normal self. Steve had no doubt that there would be some bumps during his recovery but he didn't doubt for a second that Danny would recover completely and come back stronger than ever.

- 5-0 -

**Defenestration**: **Act of throwing someone or something out a window (Honestly, look it up!)**


	5. E is for Electric Shock

**DISCLAIMER: Whilst under the influence of a sedative on Friday I briefly believed I owned Hawaii 5-0. Sadly the delusion wore off and I'm back to reality!**

**A/N: Thank you once again for all your reviews and alerts. It makes such a difference to my day. I promised I would get another chapter up Monday, so here it is.**

**E is for Electric Shock**

If Danny Williams was honest, he wasn't having a great day. Although he had to admit that, just for once, it wasn't caused by his partner, Steve McGarrett. Nope, it was being caused by the love he had for his little girl, eight year old Grace.

Now ordinarily Danny would say if he was with Grace then he was having a fantastic day, the best in fact. That was before she had conned him, with those big brown eyes of hers, into bringing her to Kahala Mall.

The place was packed but he had promised his daughter that they could come shopping, get pizza and see a movie. Danny didn't break his promises. The apple of his eye was skipping along beside him gripping his hand through the throng of people and smiling. That smile right there could melt the ice of the polar caps and it never failed to melt Danny's heart. Basically he was a sucker and he was pretty sure his daughter knew it!

The afternoon wore on and he had dutifully purchased a cute little outfit that Grace had spotted. He was sure Rachel wouldn't approve as it wasn't Country Club attire, probably another reason why he'd bought it. Still she could wear it when she stayed with him. It was a pair of little pink shorts with a white t-shirt that had a picture of a young girl surfing on it, which Grace immediately related to Kono, unsurprisingly.

The father and daughter then went to Pizza Hut to have some, well, pizza. Of course there was no sign of pineapple on either of their pizzas. Danny allowed himself a light beer and Grace had a soda. She spent her whole time giggling as her father told her of some of the more child friendly antics that Steve had been up to in the past couple of weeks since he'd last seen her. Grace, in turn, told Danny all about the vacation she had taken to Florida with Rachel and Step-Stan.

Danny tried very hard to not show any resentment. The unfortunate fact of the matter was that Step-Stan had money and could afford to take his little girl to Florida for a ten day vacation. He couldn't, though Danny had been grateful when Rachel assured him that they wouldn't be taking her to Orlando. It wasn't that Danny didn't want Grace to go to Disney World, he just wanted to be the one to take her there and one day he hoped he'd actually be able to afford it, maybe he'd get Super SEAL to go with them. Getting Steve on some of those rides could prove entertaining!

The pair finished their meal and headed to the movie theatre to watch Grace's choice of film, Puss in Boots. She had loved the Shrek movies so it was only natural for her to want to see this one. Danny purchased the requisite sweets and popcorn as well as some juice before they found their seats and spent the next couple of hours laughing at the antics of an animated cat.

It was late as they were leaving the movie theatre, at least it was late for an eight year old girl, but since she didn't have school tomorrow her father wasn't particularly worried.

All in all, if he had described this day to someone they would have wondered what had been so bad, apart from the packed shopping mall and having to listen to Grace wax poetic about Florida and what a great time she'd had with the man that wasn't her father. None of that was what had caused Danny to have a bad day, the fact that he found himself, yet again, in a hospital bed was the reason for his bad day.

- 5-0 -

"Did you enjoy the film Monkey?"

"Yeah, it was good. I think Puss in Boots is great, he kind of reminds me of Uncle Steve," the young girl said thoughtfully.

Danny was hard pressed not to splutter at that. Puss in Boots reminded Grace of Super SEAL! He had to ask, "Oh, why's that?"

"He had all those cool moves and you always say Uncle Steve is like a ninja. I asked Auntie Kono what a ninja was and she said it was someone who had cool fighting moves, like Uncle Steve… and Puss!" Grace explained patiently, like it should be obvious.

He laughed at that, "Well I can't say you're wrong about the ninja part babe. Still I don't think Uncle Steve is a cute cat!"

"No but he's a Super SEAL!"

"That he is, Monkey, that he is," they reached the Camaro and he settled his daughter in the back of the car making sure she buckled her seatbelt before putting the seat back and turning to get in the car.

That's when he spotted the two men and knew that his day was going to go to hell. They were dressed all in black, hoodies drawn up to hide their features and they were stalking a young woman. Torn between helping her and protecting his daughter he made a quick decision.

Leaning into the car he retrieved his gun out of the locked glove compartment. "Grace, call Uncle Steve, tell him we're parked round the movie theatre side of the mall. Lock the doors and stay in the car until either Uncle Steve or I come back for you," he gave her his phone.

"Danno?" there was a tremble in her voice that nearly tore Danny's resolve but Grace would be safe in the car, the young woman walking towards a darker, quieter corner of the parking lot wouldn't be.

"Grace, I need to go and help a young woman and I need to make sure you're safe. Call Uncle Steve, tell him where you are. Can you do that for me baby?"

"Yes Daddy," she took the phone and opened it up and he closed the door.

"Lock the doors Monkey."

Grace unbuckled her seat belt and did as she was told. Danny had left the keys in the car so that if anything happened to him and he was searched the keys wouldn't be found on him. His daughter was as safe as he could make her in the circumstances.

"Good girl. Danno loves you. I'll be back before you know it," he spoke to her through the window.

"Love you too," she replied pressing the buttons on the phone to contact her Uncle Steve.

- 5-0 -

Steve was sitting out on his deck, sipping a beer. He'd met up with an old friend for dinner, the meal had been pleasant and it had been nice to catch up with Jon. They'd been friends in high school until Steve had left Hawaii. Jon had gone into the military too so they still had lots in common but didn't get to see each other that much due to their different deployments. Jon had just returned from a tour in Afghanistan and was on a two week leave. When he'd heard that Steve was back living in Hawaii he'd looked him up. That's why he wasn't with Danny and Grace at the movies tonight. His partner had invited him, probably at Grace's insistence, but for once he had plans of his own.

The Navy SEAL grinned at thoughts of Danny's little girl. She had not only Danny but Steve, Chin and Kono, wrapped around her little finger. A flutter of those long eyelashes around her large brown eyes was all it took.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the ringing of his cell phone, hopefully it wasn't the Governor, flipping open the phone without bothering to look at the ID, "McGarrett."

"Uncle Steve?"

"Gracie?" the SEAL was immediately alert. Why on earth would Grace be calling him at nine on a Saturday evening?

"Daddy said to call you."

"Where's Danno?"  
>"I don't know," she wailed.<p>

Oh this was not good, "Grace? What happened?" he asked gently.

"Daddy told me to lock the car door and call you, he had to go and help a woman."

"Did he say what he needed to help her with?" Steve was in the house and grabbing the keys for his truck the moment he'd heard Grace say she didn't know where her Dad was.

"No," clearly Grace was upset at her Danno disappearing and Steve needed to get to her.

"Where are you sweetie?"

"In the car, parked near the movie theatre," Grace recalled what her Dad had told her to tell her Uncle.

"OK, I'm on my way Grace. I'll stay on the phone with you."

"Hurry Uncle Steve."

"I'm coming," Steve flipped the lights and siren on and took off out of his driveway, consequences of using them be damned, his partner and his daughter needed him.

- 5-0 -

Danny glanced back at the car containing the most precious thing in his life once more assuring himself that she was safe and then turned his attention in the direction of where the two men and young woman had walked.

He crept between cars trying to keep out of sight, his weapon in the palm of his hand ready if it was required. A few more feet and he saw the two men make their move. There was no satisfaction in the fact he'd been right and they'd been up to no good, he would gladly have been wrong, got back in his car and gone home to tuck his little girl in. The woman's muffled scream put paid to any doubts. The two men had grabbed her and were dragging her off towards the edges of the parking lot.

"Freeze, 5-0!" yelled Danny, safety off, gun raised.

The two men turned in his direction but didn't let the young woman go, that's when Danny saw the knife being held to her throat and her hands were gripping onto her attacker's arm. Her terrified eyes locked on to Danny's and he cringed at the fear he saw there. He hated it when someone caused fear to another human being, normally just because they could.

"I don't think so cop," replied the larger of the two, whose hand was covering the woman's mouth. His voice was deep and gravelly.

"Let the woman go," Danny instructed, his voice firm but reasonable.

"Now why would I do that?"

"I have a gun pointed at you and your friend," he pointed out.

"That's true, but you can't risk shooting us because you might hit her," he indicated the woman even as his partner in crime moved closer to the larger man's back to make sure he was shielded as well.

"Then I guess we have ourselves a genuine standoff as I can't lower my weapon while you have a knife at a hostage's throat."

"I could just slit her throat!"

"Yeah, you could do that," he saw the woman's eyes widen and tried to ignore the level of fear, "Of course you do and I'll have a damn good reason to put a bullet in you. Why don't you let her go and we'll talk about this?"

"I let her go and you shoot me!" retorted the big guy.

"Yeah, she's our only protection!" butted in the smaller guy. His voice was oddly feminine sounding but he definitely had the build of a young man.

"Harry, be quiet!" hissed the man with a knife.

"Oh great, tell the cop my name why don't you? Mike!"

"Why you little…"

The situation was getting out of hand fast. The two men were now turning on each other, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing if Mike didn't have a knife to the woman's throat. He needed to get their attention back on him and calm the situation down, with any luck Super SEAL was on his way along with some HPD back up, of course this was Steve so he might be out of luck on the HPD back up side of things, but right now he'd take Steve's insane ninja moves.

Mike had been so intent on arguing with Harry that he had loosened his grip on the woman and the knife had moved away without him realising, using that to her advantage she elbowed him in his rib cage and pulled away from him, she ran towards Danny and barrelled into him quaking in fear.

Danny's left arm had automatically come up to embrace her while he kept his gun trained on the two hapless criminals.

"You alright?"

"I think so."

"Do you think you can run back to the movie theatre?"

"I guess so."

Danny needed to get the woman out of there so that he could subdue these two idiots until help arrived, they were both standing there like deer in the headlights at the moment but it would only be a matter of time before they realised that there were two of them and only one of him, even if he did have a gun, one of them was unarmed and he couldn't very well shoot an unarmed man.

"Go. Call 911."

"Thank you," she said quietly before running as fast as her shaking legs would carry her back towards the movie theatre and help.

"Drop the knife and get on your knees," he barked at the two men.

They both did as they were told. Danny walked closer kicking the knife under a car out of their reach; he heard the sound of sirens fast approaching. It couldn't be HPD already the woman hadn't had time to get back to the theatre. Steve! That meant he would be there in a couple of minutes with the way he drove. The Detective took a couple of steps back but kept the two men covered with his weapon.

There was the sound of other sirens also approaching and Danny figured HPD and his partner were about to pull into the parking lot for the mall and allowed himself to start breathing again, relaxing his stance imperceptibly. Then he heard a noise behind him and he started to turn slightly to see if it was perhaps back up but still keep an eye on the two men kneeling on the asphalt, before he knew what was happening he felt a pain in the back of his head that he could only liken to being smacked with a baseball bat, his muscles started to spasm, the gun he was holding discharged and he collapsed to the ground.

- 5-0 -

"I'm just coming into the parking lot now Grace," Steve assured the crying child while desperately looking for signs of the Camaro. He wanted to get to Danny but he knew that he would want Steve's first priority to be making sure Grace was safe. He slammed on the brakes as he spotted the car in question. He flipped the phone shut and ran over to it. "Grace?"

Big tear filled brown eyes met his from the front seat; cheeks tear stained and eyes red from crying, "Uncle Steve!" Grace opened the door and threw herself at him with speed he didn't think she possessed.

"Hey, I've got you," picking her up he ran a soothing hand up and down her back and mumbled to her until her sobs faded and were mere gentle hiccups. The sound of other sirens pulling into the lot made him spin on his heel and he watched as two HPD cars pulled in behind his truck, clearly having seen the lights.

A uniformed Sergeant walked over to him, "Commander McGarrett, Sergeant Dawkins. What's happening?"

"I'm not quite sure. I got a call from Detective Williams' daughter," he indicated the girl in his arms, "but I haven't had a chance to find him yet."

A female officer stepped forward, "Hi, I'm Ani. Can I take her Commander?"

"What do you say Grace? Will you stay with Ani while I go and find Danno?"

The little girl pulled back from where her head was buried in his neck and looked from Steve to Ani, "You'll find Danno?"  
>"Absolutely!"<p>

"OK then," Grace gave her Uncle a kiss on the cheek and he squeezed her before handing her into the waiting arms of Ani.

"Thanks," he said to her before turning his attention back to the Sergeant, "Let's go find Detective Williams."

Steve, Sergeant Dawkins and the two other Officers strode off in the direction of the movie theatre, that's when they heard a gunshot and all four broke into a run.

Three people could be seen running in the distance but Steve's attention was drawn to the person on the ground. It was Danny and it looked like he was having a seizure, "Go after them," he shouted to the three men with him indicating they should carry on in pursuit of the people running away. He knelt on the ground next to his partner. There was no blood on the ground and he couldn't find any sign of a gunshot wound, what he did find was the leads of a Taser in his back.

Steve had been unfortunate enough to be tasered and he knew Danny had as well, but this didn't look like the resulting muscle tightening from that, it looked like an actual seizure and Steve knew there was nothing he could do except protect his partner from further injury. He pulled out his phone and requested an ambulance while waiting for the seizure to pass. It was probably only a couple of minutes but to Steve it felt like a lifetime, as his friend's body finally went limp he ran his hands over his body to check for further injuries but didn't move him. He then kept up a constant stream of reassuring words, not sure whether he was trying to reassure himself or Danny.

Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived and two familiar looking EMTs emerged, "Jake, Andy."

"Steve, what happened?" asked Jake.

"He received a jolt from a Taser, when I got to him he was having a seizure."

"Alright, let me take a look," Jake waited for Steve to move aside before he started to make his assessment.

Andy knelt on the other side and inserted an IV into Danny's left hand and started a bag of saline running.

"Temperatures up, he's tachycardic as well. I'll get those barbs out of his back and then we need to get him to the ER," Jake gently stretched the skin taut around the first barb, which had landed about half way down the left side of Danny's back, and eased it out before turning his attention to the one up at the base of Danny's skull and repeating the procedure. They'd just loaded him onto the gurney when he started to regain consciousness.

"Danny…"

"Steve?"

"Yeah."

"What 'appen'?"

"What do you remember?"

There was a pause as Danny's face scrunched up and then something obviously clicked somewhere because he immediately tried to sit up. That didn't go so well since he was strapped down to the gurney already.

"Grace!"

"She's fine, Danny, she's with an HPD officer…"

"Where's Grace?"

"Danny, listen to me," Steve placed his hands on his partner's shoulders, "She is fine."

"I need to see Grace," Danny started to fight to get free of the gurney.

"Andy, get me five of diazepam, he's confused and combative, we need to calm him down before we transport him," Jake instructed.

A moment later Steve was holding Danny's arm down so that Andy could give the medication via the IV port. The SEAL continued to hold on to his friend's arm and speak quietly to him, trying to offer him some comfort, until the medicine took effect and Danny relaxed enough to be loaded into the ambulance.

"Are you coming with us Steve?"

"No, I wasn't with him when this happened, his daughter was, I need to look after her. It's what Danny would want."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Jake acknowledged with a smile before climbing in the back with his patient.

- 5-0 -

Steve strode into the ER reception area with Grace straddling his hip and clinging to his neck. On the way over he'd contacted Chin and Kono who had both told him they'd see him there. He hadn't bothered to call Rachel since she was attending some bash on Maui with Stan and he really didn't think his partner needed the drama right now.

Doctor Jensen spotted him as he was entering and stopped him before he made it to the reception area, "Steve…"

"Doc, how is Danny?"

"Let's go somewhere more private shall we," he indicated a small area off the main corridor. Chin and Kono arrived at that moment.

"Steve!"

"Guys, I'm going to speak to Doctor Jensen, can you take Grace?"

"I want to go with you Uncle Steve!"

"I need to speak to the Doctor about your Dad. Once I have I'll come and tell you what's happening, alright?"

Grace was reluctant to let go of the SEAL but knew that he wouldn't want to talk to the Doctor with her in the room. Adults were funny like that, "OK," she reached her arms out to Chin.

"Hey Grace," he pulled her to him and gave her a hug. Kono rested her hand on the child's back as they moved off to the main waiting area.

Steve followed Doctor Jensen into the area he had indicated and asked again, "How's Danny?"

"From what I'm told he suffered from a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Given the location of the barbs from the Taser it's not unreasonable to assume that is what caused it. Especially as Danny doesn't have any previous history of seizures. Right now he's confused, tired and has a headache. I'm going to admit him overnight for monitoring."

"Can we see him?"

"As soon as he is settled in a room you can see him for a few minutes, but he needs to rest. A nurse will come and get you when he's ready to see you."

"Thanks Doctor Jensen," Steve shook the doctor's hand and then went to let the others know what was happening.

- 5-0 -

Danny had been in a world of hazy confusion for some time now. Doctor Jensen had explained it all to him, a nurse had explained it to him again but he was so tired and his head was hurting enough that he wasn't really taking it all in. In the end the nurse likened it to receiving a concussion, which to all intents and purposes is what he had experienced. That made it a bit easier for Danny to understand.

The door to his room opened and Steve entered, "Up to some visitors?"

"Sure."

Steve ushered in Grace, followed by Chin and Kono.

"Danno!" Grace ran to the bed and waited for Steve to help her up next to him, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah Monkey. I'll be even better if I can have a hug!" Never one to let her Daddy down in the hug department she laid down next to him and gave him the biggest hug she could manage, "Thanks Grace."

Steve smiled at his partner who mouthed 'Thank you', over her shoulder as she buried her head in his neck.

"What do you remember?"

"It's all a bit hazy to be honest," he looked down at Grace still cuddled up next to him not really wanting to go into too much detail with her there, "There were two guys and a woman. She managed to get away from them and I was waiting for help to arrive, then just a pain in my head. Next thing I'm waking up here!"

"There was a third man; he got you with a Taser. HPD caught them," Steve kept it simple knowing they'd have time to go into further detail at a more appropriate time.

"That's good. The woman…?"

"Not a mark on her. She was scared but thankful."

Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in his back and chest.

"You OK?"

"Chest and back hurt. Doctor Jensen says it's normal. Head feels like there's grenades' going off in it constantly!"

"We should let you rest," Kono spoke for the first time.

"'M OK," Danny murmured.

"Sure you are brah," Chin patted his arm before he and Kono left the room.

"I gotta tell you, you scared the living daylights outta me Danno!" Steve had wanted to swear but managed to restrain himself as Grace was in the room.

"'M 'orry," came the sleepy response, medication starting to pull him under, "'N don' call me Danno," with that he was asleep.

Steve grinned before scooping the now sleeping Grace into his arms. He could only imagine how hard the decision had been for Danny to leave her in the car while he helped a stranger, but he was grateful that his partner trusted him enough to come to their aid when his daughter called. He'd come back with Grace in the morning and bring his partner home with them where Steve and the little girl would make sure he was looked after.

- 5-0 -

**A/N: I found this one difficult to write for some reason. I did some research into the effects of Tasers and found an article about a police officer who had been hit with a Taser that resulted in a tonic/clonic seizure, so I utilised that in this story. The officer in question made a full recovery I'm pleased to say.**


	6. F is for Fire

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own characters or show.**

**A/N: See bottom of the story!**

**F is for Fire**

Danny Williams is woken from a blissfully deep sleep by the sound of an explosion and the apartment building he lives in shaking from the force. Sitting bolt upright it takes just a second for him to get out of bed and over to his apartment window, looking out he sees fire and thick black smoke coming from the building opposite.

The Detective doesn't hesitate to throw on a t-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers before grabbing his cell and running out of his apartment dialling 911. In all likelihood half the neighbourhood is calling for the fire department, but he doesn't want to take any chances.

"911 what is your emergency?" comes the cool clinical voice.

"My name is Detective Danny Williams, badge number 7475, there's been an explosion…" he quickly gives the dispatcher the address and she in turn assures him help is on the way and that she'll note that there is an officer on scene.

Danny shoves his cell into the pocket of his sweatpants and stops outside the building across the road and grabs the calmest person he can find, which is no easy feat since everyone is running around and screaming, not sure what has happened or what they should be doing.

"Is everyone out?" Danny asks the man that he's managed to get hold of.

"I dunno man, it's a bit chaotic, you know?" he replies, clearly overwhelmed at being woken up at 05:00 AM by an explosion and Danny can't really blame him.

Taking a deep breath Danny stands in the middle of the parking lot and lets off a loud whistle which cuts through the general noise and panic.

"I am a police officer. I need all the residents to gather on my left! Anyone who isn't a resident, please stay back and keep clear so that the emergency vehicles can gain access!" he shouts out.

Suddenly the parking lot erupts with noise again as everyone starts talking at once but does as he asks. Once he has everyone on his left he steps over to talk to them, using his best calming victim voice.

"Look around at the people here, is there anyone who should be here that isn't? The fire department will need to know if anyone is still in the building."

He watches as the dozen people look around at each other, eyes wide in fear. The man that Danny first grabbed speaks up, "Shana and her six year old daughter, Jessie, aren't here but they were home last night because I saw her as I was coming in around eleven."

There is a mumble of agreement and Danny feels his heart constrict at the idea of a woman and her daughter being in the building, of anyone being in it.

"Which apartment are they in?" asks Danny.

"Two B, so that's second floor, first apartment on the left at the top of the stairs."

"Anyone else?"

"No man, that's it," the guy replies and gets nods of agreement from his neighbours.

"Alright," Danny pulls his cell back out and dials 911 again, advising them that are persons reported still in the building and relaying what he's been told. The dispatcher tells Danny that the fire department is still ten minutes out. They're too far away.

Standing watching the thick smoke coming out of the building Danny makes a decision. There's really no choice as far as he's concerned, he has to go in. He strips off his t-shirt, McGarrett would be so proud, and wraps it round his face before running in the front of the building. He hears the cries of 'stop' and 'don't go in there', but there's a woman and child whose lives are at risk. If he stood by and did nothing how would he be able to look his own daughter in the eye again?

Keeping hunkered down as low to the ground as he can and still be able to run up the stairs he makes his way to the second floor, once there he drops to his knees and crawls along the ground by the wall until he feels the door. He checks it for heat but there isn't any, which at least is a good sign. He bangs on the door trying to get a response, but gets none. Pushing himself to his feet he pulls another trick out of his bag that normally belongs to Steve McGarrett and kicks the door in, immediately dropping to his knees again to stay below the smoke.

"Shana? Jessie? Can you hear me?" he calls, though the sound is muffled through his t-shirt. Taking a chance he pulls it off and repeats the call, this time louder. He hears a noise that sounds like someone calling out from somewhere to his left so he heads in that direction encouraging the person to keep shouting. Finally he comes to a closed door and the sound is coming from behind it. Testing for heat again, his father is a fire-fighter after all; he finds it cool to the touch so opens it. Huddled in the corner is a woman with a little girl in her arms, the room is filled with the black smoke that is all through the building.

"Hi, I'm Danny," he says going up to them, "We need to get you out of here."

"Oh thank god! We got disorientated in the smoke and I couldn't find the door!"

"Where's your bathroom?"

"Next door along the hallway," Shana replies, holding her trembling daughter close.

"Stay here, I'll be back in two minutes."

"Don't leave us here!"

"Shana, you need to stay calm and stay here, I'll be right back, I promise I'm going to get you out of here. OK?"

"OK."

Danny crawls back out of what he assumes is the bedroom and along the hallway to the bathroom, once there he rips his t-shirt into two pieces and soaks them in water before going back to Shana and Jessie. He doesn't notice when his cell slides out of his pocket.  
>"I need to tie these over your nose and mouth," he tells Shana. She nods her understanding and he quickly ties one round her head, knowing that if her Mom has one Jessie may not be so frightened, "Jessie, I know you're really scared right now, but I need to put this over your face, it will help you breathe. Then I'm gonna get you outta here. OK?" He receives the briefest of nods allowing him to tie the torn t-shirt over the bottom of her face.<p>

Danny thinks he's done all he can to make this trip safer for them but given how thick the smoke is getting and the fact he knows there's fire on the floor above he has to move them out quickly, "Shana, give Jessie to me."

The Mom is clearly reluctant to trust her little girl's safety to a stranger. It's understandable but not helpful. Given that this man has run into a burning building she has no choice but to trust him. She gently coaxes Jessie out of her arms and into Danny's. Jessie clings to him like a limpet, her legs tight around his waist and her arms linked round his neck.

"Jessie, don't let go! You hold on tight, OK?" Danny then pulls Shana alongside him and they start to crawl out of the apartment together. He ensures that their shoulders are touching so that she knows which direction to go in. Within a matter of seconds, but what feels like hours to the three of them, they've made it to the top of the stairs. There is no way that Danny can go down the stairs with Jessie hanging underneath him as she was doing as he crawled.

"Shana, do you think that you can lead the way out now?" He receives a muffled 'yes', "Keep your hand on the wall and go down the stairs, Jessie hold on to the back of your Mom's top and I'll be behind you. Go!"

Once he's sure that Jessie has a good hold of her Mom he allows them to go down in front of him, then if either falters he'll only be a couple of steps behind them to help. He can now make out the sound of sirens close enough that they must be just down the road if not actually in the parking lot. Shana and Jessie turn the corner for the last flight of stairs just before Danny, there's a creak and a beam from above comes crashing down in front of him, blocking his exit because it's actually on fire. Shana's heard it and turns round.

"KEEP GOING!" Danny shouts over the noise of the crackling flames. They're almost clear of the building and they need to get out. He sees a moment's hesitation and is about to shout again when she starts to move. Relieved he moves back round the corner from the burning beam and huddles on the stairs as low as he can get. He knows his best chance to get out of here now is for the fire-fighters to find him and they'll come up the stairs if they can.

- 5-0 -

Fire Chief O'Connor is standing in a throng of residents of the building currently going up in flames and smoke. They're all talking at once and he can't understand what they're saying. He knows there's a Detective on scene but nobody seems to be calm enough to be a police officer and he also knows there's persons reported as still being inside the building. Glancing over at the building he notices someone coming out the front.

"Burrows!" he waves with his hand to one of the nearby fire-fighters who are currently unravelling the hoses and hooking them up to a hydrant.

"Got it Chief!" Burrows runs over to the woman and scoops the child up while placing an arm around the woman. EMTs are hovering nearby waiting for them. They are helped to an ambulance where the medics start to administer oxygen. As Burrows starts to walk away the woman's hand on his arm stops him.

"There's a man in there, his name's Danny! He saved us," she takes in a deep breath of pure oxygen, "A beam came down on the stairs, he's trapped."

Nodding his understanding Burrows runs back to Chief O'Connor and fills him in. There are men ready to go with hoses and breathing apparatus, "Got a man in there. On the stairs. Get him out!"

"Yes Chief," the four men kitted out and ready to go replied before heading into the building.

- 5-0 -

Danny was wondering if he'd get out of this alive. He'd always thought if he was going to die before he reached old age it would be because of one of Super SEAL's crazy ass plans. Instead it looked like it might be because of one of _his_ crazy ass plans. He could hear Steve now. _'What the hell were you thinking running into a burning building? And you say I'm crazy!'_ He just hoped that Shana and Jessie had made it out OK and weren't suffering too much in the way of ill effects from the smoke.

The cough that he'd developed was getting worse and his chest was tightening as he was finding it harder to breathe. Just when he thought he might as well put his head down on the stairs and close his eyes he heard a noise, the sound of muffled shouting and water being sprayed.

"Hello!" he cries out as loud as he possibly can, which leads to another bout of coughing. His eyes are watering and he's not sure if he's actually seeing what is standing in front of him.

Then someone speaks, the sound is muffled but the hand on his shoulder can't be mistaken, "I'm gonna get you out," the fire-fighter states. He places a mask over Danny's face and he can feel the flow of fresh oxygen, then before Danny can even try to move he is hanging upside down in a true fireman's lift as he is carried out of the building.

Being hung upside down over someone's shoulders is disorientating at the best of times, but then the fire-fighter steps outside and willing hands are lowering Danny onto a gurney. The change in perspective is dizzying. There is an EMT on either side of him, one is removing the mask the fire-fighter used and was replacing it with an oxygen mask.

"What's your name?" asked the other EMT. For once it wasn't anyone he recognised.

"Danny," his reply came out more of a whisper than anything and the one word was all he could manage. In fact Danny didn't recognise his own voice.

"Alright Danny, I need you take deep breaths on that oxygen. We're going to get an IV started then transport you to Queens." His patient merely nodded in response as another coughing fit wracked his body.

Danny felt the sharp pinch of a needle going into the back of his hand but was too busy trying to draw breath to really worry about that. The dizzy feeling was increasing and he closed his eyes to ward it off. A moment later a blanket was thrown over him and some straps were placed loosely across him and then he was being lifted into the back of the ambulance. The journey to the hospital was unnerving for Danny. The sirens a clear indication to even his addled mind that he wasn't in the best of shape.

The ambulance came to a halt outside the ER and Danny was being unloaded and whisked into the department by several people before he could even take in what was happening. He could hear one of the EMTs reeling off numbers but other than that everything was a complete blur. Maybe it was the fact his eyes were stinging but he couldn't be sure. Deciding he'd had enough he let his eyes slip closed.

"Let's move him across," Doctor Dom Phelps instructed. This was his first night in the ER and it had been busy. His patient was shifted on to the ER bed and removed from the EMT's oxygen and monitoring then hooked up to the hospitals. "I want a chest x-ray, CBC, U&E and blood gases. I want his vitals updated every five minutes," leaning over his patient he tried to bring him round, "Danny, can you hear me?" There was no response, "Do we have a last name?"

"No," replied one of the nurses, "EMTs said he could barely manage his first name."

Doctor Phelps couldn't waste time worrying about that now, he needed to stabilise his patient. He listened to his lungs and didn't particularly like what he was hearing. Looking at his throat and in his nostrils there was a lot of soot. "Keep an eye on his O2 levels. Page Doctor Dudley and let him know we have a patient that might require the hyperbaric chamber."

The ER team now concentrated on keeping their patient as stable as possible pending the results of his blood work and chest x-ray. The atmosphere in the room was one of controlled calm. The slightest change in Danny's condition needed to be noted and dealt with or they could lose him.

Forty minutes later they had the results they needed. The decision now needed to be made as to whether Danny required a hyperbaric chamber or whether ventilation would be adequate to prevent potential neurological damage.

"Can someone please contact Doctor Dudley and ask him to come and consult," Doctor Phelps requested.

A few minutes later a man in his early thirties entered the room, "Hi Dom, what you got?"

"Hi Lee, carbon monoxide poisoning following smoke inhalation," replied Dom Phelps, "I'd like your opinion on whether we should send him for hyperbaric treatment."

Lee Dudley looked over the information that had been given to him and then examined the unconscious patient, "Definitely. Let's get him prepped and moved."

A new flurry of activity surrounded the oblivious Danny as he and the machines he was hooked up to were moved out of the trauma room and to the area of the hospital where the hyperbaric chamber treatment would be carried out.

- 5-0 -

Steve McGarrett was annoyed; in fact he was downright pissed off! His partner should have arrived to pick him up thirty minutes ago and he couldn't get hold of him on his cell or house number. Steve was now waiting for Chin Ho Kelly to come and get him. He watched as Chin pulled up in his SUV and he jogged out to meet him after locking the house up.

"Thanks for coming out here Chin."

"No problem brah. Where's the truck?"

"I took it to the garage yesterday and it won't be ready until later today. Danny said he'd pick me up this morning and hasn't shown. Can't get him on his cell either!" growled Steve.

"That's not like Danny," Chin was surprised since the ex-Jersey man was normally very reliable, "Let's swing by his place before we go to the office."

Chin pulled out from Steve's driveway onto the road and headed for Danny's apartment. When they pulled up outside a short while later they spotted his Camaro still in its normal parking spot.

"I'm going to kill him," grumbled Steve as he got out of the SUV and walked up to Danny's door, knocking on it as hard as he could without it caving under the pressure, "Danny open this goddamn door or I swear…"

"Steve!" admonished Chin. He leaned passed his boss and tried the door on the off chance it was unlocked and was actually surprised when it opened. The two men exchanged concerned glances and unholstered their weapons before entering. It didn't take long for them to discover Danny wasn't there. The next surprise came when they found his wallet, badge and gun next to the bed. There was no way Danny would leave without them. Add that to the fact his car was parked outside and he wasn't answering his phone and the two men started to wonder what had happened to him.

Steve pulls out his cell and dials, "Kono," he barks before she can say anything, "See if you can get a trace on Danny's cell."

To her credit Kono doesn't even question why, she just does as he asks, "Nothing boss, it must be switched off. What's going on?"

"Get a crime scene unit over to Danny's apartment. He's not here but his car, badge and gun are!"

"On it," she states before hanging up.

Somehow neither man had noticed the half burned down building across the road or the fire crew still there ensuring there were no remaining hotspots. If they had there is a chance they would have put two and two together. As it was they were completely in the dark about where their friend was and it left them both with a knot twisting in their stomachs.

- 5-0 -

Danny remained unconscious throughout the setting up of the hyperbaric chamber for his treatment. Given the seriousness of his condition there would be a nurse in the chamber with him.

"Start compression," Doctor Dudley instructed one of the technicians, "We'll do four lots of thirty minute sessions," he watched his patient carefully as they started the process, keeping an eye on the monitors that showed Danny's vitals. There was an excellent chance that he would make a full recovery if they could counteract the CO2 poisoning.

The door to the observation room opened and another doctor stepped into the room, "Lee, I heard you had a patient in the hyperbaric and thought I'd come and check it out."

"Henry, indeed I do. He has carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation. I'm told that he rescued a woman and her child then became trapped. He was struggling when they got him out to the point where we only have his first name."

"He hasn't regained consciousness?"

"No. Although in some ways I think that could be a blessing for him. Struggling for breath isn't the most pleasant of experiences!"

The other doctor moved closer to the chamber so he could look in through the viewing window. He took one look at the man and gasped.

"Henry? What's wrong?"  
>"Er, I know him," Doctor Henry Jensen told his colleague, "It's Detective Danny Williams and he's on the Governor's 5-0 taskforce. Nobody recognised him?"<p>

"No. I've never met him before and there were several new staff in the ER, including Doctor Phelps."

"Damn, I need to make a call. His partner is probably tearing the island a part looking for him!"

"His partner? Do you mean his wife? I didn't see a wedding band."

"No, I mean his partner on the task force. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. The team are very close and their day starts early so they've probably noticed that he's missing by now."

"You know them well then?"

"I should, I've treated them practically every time one of them has been to the ER!"

"Well Danny has just finished his first thirty minute treatment so I'm going to check his blood work while you call his partner."

Doctor Jensen sighed in the manner of someone who has a task to carry out that they wish someone else would before leaving to make the call.

- 5-0 -

"Hi Steve, Kono said Danny's missing." Charlie Fong from the Crime Scene Unit approached the head of 5-0.

"Hi Charlie. Yeah. He didn't show up to get me this morning and I couldn't reach him on his cell. Kono checked and it's off. When we got here the door was unlocked and Danny's badge and gun are still here. No signs of a struggle."

"Alright, we'll take a look…"

Steve's cell rang, "Excuse me Charlie," he said apologetically before answering, "McGarrett."

"Steve, its Doctor Jensen."

"What can I do for you doc?" Steve asked distractedly.

"It's about Danny…"

That got his attention and his head shot up, "Danny? What about him?" Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and all eyes focused on Steve, "What? Is he going to be OK? Of course, we'll be right there!" He hung up the phone and turned to the roomful of people, "Danny's at Queens…" he told them what Doctor Jensen had said before instructing Charlie to lock up on his way out and rushing out the door with Chin.

- 5-0 -

Doctor Dudley reviewed Danny's latest set of bloods and was pleased with his progress. He was just starting on his third thirty minute treatment and the doctor was sure that after his fourth treatment they'd be able to move him to the ICU where he could be closely monitored for any further issues.

The door to the observation room opened and Doctor Jensen stepped through with two men and a woman in tow.

"Doctor Lee Dudley, this is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Detective Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakaua," he introduced the three strangers to him and he dutifully shook hands.

"I'm sorry you weren't informed that Danny was here sooner, but he had no ID on him and only managed to tell the EMTs his first name."

Steve waved the apology away knowing that it wasn't anyone's fault, except maybe his partner's and there was no doubt in his mind they'd be having words about entering buildings that were on fire without proper equipment. Even if he knew that conversation would be more for show than anything else as he'd have done exactly the same thing, "How is he?"

"Danny was brought in suffering from severe smoke inhalation which resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Following blood tests he was deemed suitable for hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT. The chamber only contains pure oxygen on a continuous flow and the compression, or pressurisation, means that the oxygen can penetrate the body faster, this means the CO2 is being replaced quicker than if he were on a normal mask or even a ventilator. He breathes pure oxygen for thirty minutes, then we take a break to allow normal air to be breathed for about five minutes and then we start the cycle again. Danny is on his third cycle and will have one more after this. Once his treatment is complete we'll decompress the chamber and he'll be transferred to ICU."

"Is that a long winded way of saying he'll be fine or what?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

Doctor Jensen cringed. He should have warned Lee about the Commander's lack of tolerance for beating around the bush, "Steve, Doctor Dudley is merely trying to help you understand what Danny is currently going through!" he admonished gently.

"Sorry," though Steve didn't look very remorseful.

"It's fine. I get carried away with the explanation because seeing someone you care about in a metal chamber with a lot of machines attached can be a bit worrying so I try to explain what the procedure is and why we're doing it as soon as possible. In answer to your question Commander, as long as there are no complications from the smoke inhalation after his hyperbaric treatment, he should be fine."

"What kind of complications are we talking about?"

"There's still a risk of respiratory failure with this level of smoke inhalation, however with the use of the HBOT this is unlikely. Also Danny is at a higher risk of pneumonia as the lungs are likely to be coated with soot. These things will be monitored closely in ICU."

"Can we see him?" asked Kono quietly.

"Of course," Doctor Dudley waved them to the viewing window.

The three friends stood side by side and peered in at their very quiet and still friend. No movement, no talking, just eyes shut. It wasn't an easy thing to see. One of the nurses brought them chairs and they all sat and watched as Danny went through the rest of the treatment.

- 5-0 -

Danny's return to consciousness is somewhat anticlimactic initially. There's nobody awake to see it happen as his three visitors are all out for the count in various sprawled positions in their chairs.

His tired eyes track round the room as he takes in their presence. The memory of how he came to be in a hospital bed hooked up to all sorts of machines is escaping him at that moment. He takes stock of all his limbs and realises that for the most part he's fully intact. Looking around at the machines he recognises the heart monitor, of course with it's annoying beeping it would be hard not to recognise that, a pulse oximeter on his finger, a nasal cannula for oxygen and of course an IV.

Closing his eyes he thinks he'll just allow himself to drift back off to sleep but his body betrays him and prevents him from following through. It starts with realising his throat is sore, which in turn brings his attention to a tickly feeling. He tries to clear his throat hoping that will get rid of the tickle. It doesn't. He does succeed in waking up his slumbering friends though as he starts to cough which triggers an instant reaction of both wanting to throw up and the feeling of not being able to catch his breath.

Steve is by his side in one smooth movement helping him sit up a little, Kono is rushing out the door and Chin appears at his other side.

"You're alright Danny, just try to relax," Super SEAL earns himself the best glare that Danny can manage given the circumstances.

Danny's favourite nurse, Akela, enters the room. Just to be clear, he's actually Kono's favourite nurse but Danny thinks he should be allowed some sarcasm right now, even if it's only in his own head. In Akela's hand is a syringe which he deftly slips into Danny's IV port.

"That will help you get this cough under control," he also disconnects the nasal cannula and places an oxygen mask over Danny's face, much to the patient's disgust but also relief. The cool fresh air starts to ease the tightness in his chest, "Danny, I want you to concentrate on me. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out," the nurse calmly coaches.

The Detective thinks he might have to change his opinion of Akela as he helps him calm down and get his breathing under control. As his breathing eases Danny becomes aware of an unpleasant feeling and the look that crosses his face is easily read by the nurse. An emesis bowl appears in no time and the oxygen mask is removed. Danny proceeds to throw up and much to his disgust it's not normal up chuck either, it's black and tarry looking. A few minutes later when the vomiting has passed and the emesis bowl is removed, a sip of water is offered and taken. Danny is shaking with the strain of what he's just been through but Steve still has him in a firm grip and is talking softly to him. If either man was asked what was said neither would be able to say, but just his friend's voice was easing him.

Akela replaces the oxygen mask and helps Steve ease his partner back down, though he raises the head of the bed slightly to make breathing a little easier.

"We're going to need to use suction to help remove some of that mucus Danny," Akela informs him.

Still unable to talk Danny just flaps a hand at him, too tired to argue. Taking that as consent the nurse disappears only to come back a short time later with another syringe, "This is to help you relax while I do the suctioning. It's not particularly pleasant but it will help and hopefully you'll be able to avoid vomiting again." Danny's all for no more vomiting.

Akela removes the oxygen mask again and angles Danny's head back slightly. Taking a small plastic tube he explains to Danny that he is going to insert it through his nose and into his windpipe then he'll use a gentle vacuum to suck out the secretions that are causing him problems. Danny's eyes widen but given his options he figures he's got nothing left to lose. Steve takes his hand and squeezes to let him know he's still there and Akela begins.

It's clear neither Danny nor Akela take any pleasure from the procedure but Danny is certainly more comfortable afterwards.

"Tomorrow we'll change to postural drainage. Basically you'll be positioned so that the secretions can drain easier, someone then claps you on the back with a cupped hand," he cups his hand to demonstrate, "That will loosen the mucus and you'll be able to cough it up easier and avoid being sick. Still not pleasant but it will likely need to be done for a while."

"Thanks," Danny whispers tiredly.

"Get some rest Danny," Akela replaces the nasal cannula this time and straightens the covers before leaving.

"Sleep, we'll be here when you wake up," instructs Steve, receiving a grateful smile in return.

- 5-0 -

Five days later Danny is finally leaving Queens. He spent two days in the ICU thanks to the problems caused by the build-up of mucus, then a further three days to ensure that he could maintain his own oxygen levels. Everyone on the team had been shown how to assist him with the postural drainage so he was being allowed to go home.

Of course that didn't mean his apartment it meant Steve's house. Danny was discharged with an inhaler to help widen his airway if he got breathless and various prescription drugs. All of which Steve had paid attention to in case his partner decided not to do as he had been told. This followed several arguments in the hospital as Danny tried to make good his escape before the Doctor's allowed. The last escape attempt had been the worst and the final straw for Danny's care givers.

The patient had decided after just one day out of ICU he was fine and could leave. He waited for his chance when nobody from his team was in his room and managed to get himself dressed and down as far as the lobby. Unfortunately for Danny, or maybe fortunately given the results, he was spotted by Akela who escorted him back to his room and stood in the doorway with his arms folded. That was how the team and Doctor Dudley found him when they returned to check on Danny. After explaining his presence his three team mates and doctor all turned to Danny for an explanation of why he would do something so monumentally stupid.

Danny had gone into full on rant mode, for which he really didn't have the strength. That in turn led to a severe coughing fit which dropped Danny to his knees. It took thirty minutes to get him settled back into bed with an oxygen mask. Doctor Dudley told Danny in no uncertain terms that he had just set back his recovery and would be staying at least an additional day. That had done the trick, that and the promise Akela would be requested as his personal nurse if he didn't behave!

Now he was leaving and Steve was determined that no foolishness would set back his recovery again. The SEAL wasn't alone in that, Kono and Chin were backing him all the way.  
>As for Danny, he'd learnt his lesson and prepared to be a good patient. That didn't mean that he wouldn't mentally note things so he could turn the tables on his team mates if they ever found themselves needing <em>him<em> to care for _them_. Of course he hoped that never happened, but if it did, he'd be ready to pay them back. After all that's what family do!

-5-0-

**A/N: As always thank you so much for your reviews, reading and alerts. I had no intention of making Danny so poorly, but then researched severe smoke inhalation, saw the hyperbaric chamber and just had to roll with it I'm afraid. I researched heavily and there are a couple of things to note. Hawaii Medical Center does have a hyperbaric chamber, however because I wanted to use Doctor Jensen (again) I used creative license to move it to Queens! A piece of trivia you may not care about, Doctor Lee Dudley is the name of an Emergency Doctor who specialises in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine at Hawaii Medical Center. By using his name I meant no disrespect.**


	7. G is for Grenade

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never will.**

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews / alerts and for reading! Given the amount of research I've done for previous chapters I have to confess to having done absolutely none for this! I've taken creative license where necessary but I wanted to give this one a little bit more of a light hearted feel. I'm not great with the humour side of stories so I don't know if I succeeded, I'll let you be the judges and you can tell me! **

**G is for Grenade**

Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams, Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua were watching a warehouse on the docks where a suspect in an arms dealing ring was believed to be running his business from.

The day was hot and the sun beat down on the four 5-0 team members as they huddled nearby to confirm they all understood the plan. Yes, much to Danny's delight, Steve Super SEAL McGarrett had actually come up with a plan before going in guns blazing. Not only that he'd called for back-up which meant they had four HPD officers and SWAT with them.

"Our intel says that Shane Warner runs his side of the arms dealing ring out of this warehouse. It also says that the men working for him are heavily armed," Steve was speaking to the group quietly, out of sight of the warehouse.

"Do we know how many are in there?" asked the SWAT leader.

"We don't have an exact number but during surveillance there appears to have been at least a dozen men," Danny supplied.

"Danny, Chin, Kono and I will each lead a team consisting of an HPD officer and two SWAT members. Chin, take the left; Kono take the right; Danny go to the back and I'll go in the front," instructed Steve. He eyed all the people before him and got a nod of agreement, "Nobody goes in until everyone is in place. Let's go!"

Danny and Chin both took their teams down the left side of the warehouse, ducking underneath any windows until they came to the fire exit on the side, then Danny took his team and carried on to the back corner where he could see the loading bay that led out towards the water.

"In place," Danny reported.

"Copy that, also in place," Chin stated.

"I'm at the side now," Kono told her colleagues.

"OK, on three," Steve instructed, "One, two, three, GO GO GO! 5-0, drop your weapons…"

At the command all four teams moved in immediately and the move was promptly followed by the sound of gunfire.

- 5-0 -

Chin entered the warehouse through the open fire exit door to the left of the warehouse. Right in front of him were a series of crates stacked three high and five along giving them perfect cover as they entered. At the sound of gunfire coming from the front of the warehouse Chin figured his boss hadn't been so lucky.

Leading his team of three around the crates he managed to get sight of three of the men all armed with 9mm handguns.

"5-0! Drop your weapons!"

The three men all dropped behind some nearby crates and started firing in their direction. Chin confidently directed the three men backing him up using hand signals and it was only a few minutes later when they had managed to subdue the three and they were all cuffed and removed out of the side door to avoid the continuing gunfire.

Chin and one of the SWAT members carried on into the warehouse to offer support to their colleagues.

- 5-0 -

Kono and her team also entered through an open fire exit door but on the right side of the warehouse. She wasn't so lucky to find her way covered by crates; however the four men in her sights were actually so busy looking towards the front of the warehouse that they didn't see the four officers coming in behind them.

Brief hand signals indicated to each where they needed to go whilst still being able to cover the other angles to ensure that nobody came up behind any of the team. Since Steve had already given the warning and she'd heard Chin do the same Kono decided that discretion was the better part of valour so chose to sneak up on the four men before her.

All of her team sighted on one of the men each and quickly assessed the best and safest route to take out their target as efficiently as possible and in a perfectly timed strike all four men were subdued and cuffed before they even knew anyone was behind them.

Kono grinned at the others before instructing the HPD officer and one of the SWAT officers to escort their prisoners out of the warehouse while she and the other SWAT officer went further into the warehouse to assist the others.

- 5-0 -

No sooner had the words left Steve's mouth than guns were being fired in the direction of the team he was leading. As he had entered he'd made note of places to duck and cover which he quickly instructed the team to do.

Protected as they were by another pile of crates these ones were empty and they needed to be careful that the bullets coming their way didn't penetrate the wood and come out the other side.

Steve popped up and fired off a few rounds to enable him to get a better view of the rest of the warehouse in order to find better cover for his team. Spotting a van to the right of where they were currently taking heavy fire he indicated to one of the SWAT officers and the HPD officer to head in that direction while he and the other SWAT officer covered them. Once they were safely protected by the van and had a better chance of moving forward behind other crates littering the floor Steve and the remaining SWAT officer moved to the left along the length of empty crates trying to draw fire away so that the other two men could come up behind their shooters.

The plan worked, with the help of Chin and Kono who had also come from further back in the warehouse. The three shooters were soon cuffed and spread out on the floor in front of them, one had an extra hole in his arm but he did try to shoot Kono when he heard the sound of her approach and swung round ready to fire. Chin didn't give him the opportunity and shot him first.

"How many?"

"Four," replied Kono.

"Three," Chin supplied.

"And these three, so that's ten, there must be another couple… Danny?" Steve asked over his wrist mike. He heard nothing. Raising his eyebrows at his two team members they merely nodded before Steve instructed the HPD and three of the SWAT officers, who had re-joined them after securing the other men, to remove the men and get them transported and then the remaining three SWAT officers, Chin, Kono and Steve started a full sweep of the warehouse heading towards the back where they knew Danny should be.

- 5-0 -

As soon as Steve had called three through the radio Danny had led his team round the corner to the back of the warehouse towards the loading bay. Moving quickly and quietly they all heard the gunshots. Danny rolled his eyes, even with a plan and back-up they still ended up in a gun battle!

The back of the warehouse was covered with crates that looked like they were ready for shipping. Danny looked out onto the water to make sure no boat was coming in to make the collection, the last thing they needed was a boat load of back-up for their bad guys. Not seeing anything he signalled to the HPD officer and one SWAT officer to go round to the right of the crates lining the loading dock towards the warehouse while he and the other SWAT officer went to the left towards the water. He was hoping between them they could flush out anyone who was lurking in the rows created by the stacked crates.

Danny turned to the SWAT officer, "Sorry didn't catch your name," he whispered.

"Troy," the man quietly replied.

"Alright Troy, we need to prevent anyone from making it to the water, if they do then we'll lose them."

"Got it."

The two men quietly walked around the last crate in the row and there was nobody there. Danny had been holding his breath and let it out with a quiet whoosh. That was a bit anticlimactic he thought to himself before continuing on down the next row stopping when he came to any point where rows intersected.

Danny was concentrating on what was around him so when he heard Steve say his name over the radio he didn't respond straightaway as he was checking a new row before entering. Satisfied that it was clear he started round the corner only to have Troy push him to the ground.

"Oomph!"

There was the sound of a couple of gunshots and a body falling then silence. Danny pushed himself up slightly looking around for any further threats. Troy was on the ground behind him with one of the shooters from the warehouse lying not six feet away. He must have snuck in behind them while they were entering this row.

"Troy?" Danny asked as he quickly went to the perp's side and removed the weapon from reach and checked for vitals. He was dead.

"Took a bullet in the vest," Troy managed to get out between clenched teeth, "Damn that hurts!"

Danny quickly opened the vest to ensure that the bullet hadn't managed to get through the Kevlar and was greatly relieved to see that it hadn't, though he knew Troy would have a beautiful bruise on his chest later. He helped the man sit up slightly before speaking into his radio quietly, conscious of the fact that there could be other men lurking.

"Steve…"  
>"Danny why the hell didn't you respond?" Steve's voice came back with an edge of anger but mostly concern.<p>

"Was a little busy! Troy has taken a bullet to the vest, he's alright but I need to get him out of here. I don't know how many more guys there are back here."

"OK, where are you?"

"Out on the loading dock. Three rows in, I'll try and get him nearer to the warehouse as at the moment we're nearer the water."

"Got it, we're on our way!"

Danny carefully helped Troy to his feet, to his credit the man carried on helping the Detective to clear the rows as they reached the intersections. They were a few crates back from reaching the end of the row and the warehouse when a man ran passed the end.

"Damn, that's Warner!" Danny cursed loudly at the thought that the man would get away.

"Go, I'm alright. Go after him!" Troy told the Detective.

Giving Troy a look that assessed his condition he knew the man was capable of staying hidden until help arrived for him and took off after Warner, calling back over his shoulder, "Let Steve know!"

Troy continued on down the row until he came to the end, there was only open ground between the end of the crates and the warehouse, he couldn't move fast enough to get across so he propped himself up and used his radio, "I have the warehouse in sight but it's not safe to cross the loading dock. Danny spotted Warner running towards warehouse ten and has gone after him."

"Copy that," Steve replied and then turned to the people with him. "Chin, Kono you're with me. I want the rest of you to secure the loading dock and get Troy." The group split up ready to help their fellow officers.

- 5-0 -

Danny ran off after Shane Warner. The man was six foot four, well built. Clearly he worked out but not to the point where he was completely muscle bound. They knew him to be twenty nine years old with no family to speak of. With his crop of red hair and piercing pale blue eyes you wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

The Detective was almost a foot shorter than the man he was pursuing but Danny was faster and no less fit. Keeping up with a Navy SEAL meant that he needed to be on top of his game. Despite the fact the team teased him about what he ate there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. Just because he didn't broadcast his exercise regime, didn't mean he didn't have one.

Shane rounded the corner of the next warehouse and Danny increased his speed, knowing he had lost sight of the man spurring him on. When the Detective reached the corner he paused not wanting to go running into a man who could potentially be waiting for him with a loaded gun. It was a good job he did, as he stuck his head carefully round the corner a bullet pinged off the metal of the warehouse causing him to duck back.

"Steve, at warehouse ten next door, down the left hand side. Shots fired."

"Copy that Danny; we're a couple of minutes behind you."

Risking another peek around the corner no further bullets came his way. He looked around the area outside the warehouse. There were half a dozen cars parked at the left hand side of the open area to the side of the warehouse, behind which Shane could be lurking. Then to make matters worse there were more crates stacked near to the wall of the warehouse, also giving great cover. The open area between the cars and crates was at least thirty foot wide and it would be too dangerous to go down the middle.

Assessing his options and working out which direction the bullet had come from by looking at the dent it had made in the metal Danny decided to chance going for the crates. Apart from anything else they were closer which meant he'd be out in the open for less time. Decision made he took a deep breath and ran, very much relieved when he didn't hear or feel any bullets.

"Danny, Chin and Kono are going to come around the opposite side of the warehouse and block Warner's exit, I'm coming up behind you."

"Copy. I'm behind the crates; I've lost sight of the suspect."

It was no more than a minute later that Danny spotted Steve at the corner of the warehouse behind him. Concentrating on the area where the cars were in order to cover his partner Steve made a run for it. That's when Warner gave away his location by firing at the SEAL enabling Danny to fire back and keep him ducking for cover until Steve arrived by his side without a scratch on him.

"Nice of you to join me!"

"Oh come on Danno, we got here as fast as we could!"

"Uh huh, so any bright ideas now?"

"We wait for Chin and Kono to get into position. We know he's behind the SUV now," Steve reported this fact to their colleagues and they waited.

"We're ready to move boss," Chin reported.

"Alright move in."

Danny and Steve watched as the cousins moved towards the vehicles ready to provide cover fire if it became necessary. It wasn't, they snuck up behind the man behind the SUV without a shot being fired.

Both Steve and Danny sighed in relief and started to walk towards the pair and the new prisoner they'd just landed themselves. Chin called out, "It's not Warner!"

"What the hell…."

Everyone immediately went on alert knowing that Danny had said he'd seen Warner and the man had come round this side of the warehouse. He hadn't made it passed Chin and Kono or HPD who were still out on the main dock area so he had to be in this area somewhere. Steve and Danny were sitting ducks out in the open.

"Chin, Kono get him out of here!" barked Steve, wanting to make sure that at least two of his team members were safe, "NOW!" he ordered when neither moved.

Danny had run towards the cars when he realised that Warner was still on the loose and Steve had moved back to the crates. The SEAL quickly worked his way down the single row clearing each nook. Warner wasn't there. That meant he had to be over by the cars…. Danny!

Steve didn't give it a second thought as he dashed around the end of the row of crates and ran towards the cars. Danny, for his part, saw what his partner was doing and nearly flipped, it was only the possibility that he'd give away his position that kept him quiet, didn't stop his mind from yelling at Steve though.

'_Damn Super SEAL what the hell do you think you're doing, you're gonna get yourself killed?'_

Observing the area where the cars were parked as Steve cleared the crates Danny was looking for any signs of Warner. He moved forward so that he was crouched down behind the hood of one of the cars and spotted movement three cars down. He didn't hesitate and took the shot, it was Warner or Steve and he knew which one he'd pick every time.

Warner fell to the ground a bullet in his shoulder. Danny was closest and approached first, kicking the gun out of the man's reach. That's when he noticed that Warner had a hand in the pocket of his jacket.

"Take your hand out of your pocket Warner or I'll shoot you again and this time it'll be a kill shot!" growled the Detective.

"As you wish Detective Williams," smirked Warner.

Danny's eyes widened as he saw what the man had, it was a grenade and the pin was out. Before the Detective could do a thing Warner threw the grenade forcefully under the cars. Looking up Danny saw that Steve was approaching and there was no way he could get out of the way. Making a decision he yelled, "GRENADE!" and ran at Steve pushing him back towards the crates and then threw himself on top of his partner as the grenade exploded catapulting pieces of burning metal from the cars into the air.

- 5-0 -

Steve saw Warner go down as he made the mistake of showing himself not realising that Danny was just a few cars down. He grinned to himself before radioing Chin to let him know that they'd need EMTs for Warner. As the SEAL walked towards the cars he saw Danny look at him, eyes widened in horror as he shouted the word grenade and barrelled towards him. Danny's momentum had them far enough away to avoid the worst of the explosion but his partner threw himself down on top of him regardless.

The sound of metal striking the ground all around them had them both throwing their hands over their heads. Danny still sprawled out across Steve covering the majority of his body with his own.

An eerie quiet descended on the area with only the crackle of flames heard for a good fifteen seconds, then Steve could hear Chin and Kono screaming in his ear. "Steve! Danny! Are you alright?"

Steve couldn't really tell if there was any damage to his body until he could get Danny off him, "I think so, don't know where Warner is though, the bastard had a grenade," replied Steve, "He was over by the cars, approach the area with caution."

Danny shifted on top of him, groaning, "Holy crap! Things just blow up around you don't they Super SEAL?"

"You alright man?"

"Huh, I'll let you know when my ears stop ringing and I can catalogue my body!"

"How about you start with getting off me? Not that I don't appreciate your protection but I'd like to get up before everyone arrives to see us sprawled on the ground with you on top of me!"

Happy to oblige, since it wasn't the most comfortable position for him, Danny went to push himself up and felt hot spikes of pain down his back and in his ass. '_Well that can't be anything good!'_ Deciding that pushing himself up wasn't going to work he slid sideways off his partner and laid on his side, eyes closed, taking deep breaths trying to control the pain he was now experiencing.

"Danno?" Steve's voice was laced with worry as he sat up.

"Gimme a minute," he replied through gritted teeth, making sure his body was angled enough that Steve couldn't see his back.

"Steve? Danny?" Kono called out from over by the cars.

"You go talk to them; I'll be with you in a minute. Just a bit of a dizzy spell," the Detective wasn't completely lying.  
>"You sure?"<p>

"Yeah, go."

Danny waited until Steve had got to his feet and was making his way to the others, glancing worriedly back at his partner who was slowly shifting on the ground. Once the Detective was sure Steve was busy talking to Chin and Kono he pushed up on his left arm and craned his neck to look at his back.

'_Oh great!' _he thought to himself as he could just make out bits of shrapnel embedded in his lower back. Sweeping his eyes further down he could see some more in the back of his thigh. That wasn't the worst part though, oh no, because this was Danny's messed up life, he could actually see shrapnel in his ass cheek! He was never gonna hear the end of this. The teasing would be merciless and would go on forever. Danny wondered momentarily if he could get up and walk to the EMTs without his friend's noticing, preferably with his back facing away from everyone.

Deciding it was as good an idea as any he tried to roll to his stomach hoping he could push himself up onto his hands and knees then to his feet. His body had other ideas. Every movement sent a spike of pain, as the muscles that had shrapnel embedded in them moved so did the pieces of metal.

Feeling sick with the thought of any more attempts to move he decided he was going to have to swallow his embarrassment and ask for help. Rather than yell across to where his team mates stood he decided to use the radio, "Steve, you got a minute?"

"Warner's missing Danny; get your lazy ass over here!" not even turning round to look at his partner.

"Not gonna happen Steven."

"Why not?" Steve turned to see Danny still sprawled on his side on the ground and he, Chin and Kono started to move towards him. Seeing this Danny decided he wouldn't bother replying. Anyone hooked up to the radio would hear him if he told them what the problem was.

"Danny?" Kono knelt down next to him.

"What's wrong brah?" Chin asked gently, seeing his friend was extremely pale.

"Gotta bit of a problem, I seem to have caught some pieces of flying debris…"

"Why the hell didn't you say anything?" Steve scolded as he walked round to his partner's back, "Oh!"

"Yeah."  
>"Well, er, that's interesting," Steve didn't know quite what to say. He knew shrapnel injuries hurt like hell, but he hadn't ever seen anyone with bits of metal sticking out of their ass cheek before.<p>

"What is it?" Kono asked moving her attention away from Danny's face and trying to see what Steve could.

"Kono can you get EMTs here please, Danny isn't going anywhere without medical attention," Steve asked.

"Sure," she gave the three men a quizzical look before jogging to the front of the building where she knew EMTs had been waiting.

"What is it Steve?"

"Danny has, er…"

"Oh for heaven's sake Steven! What he's trying to say is I have shrapnel in my ass!"

"Ah, don't quite know what to say to that!" Chin stated, not even a hint of a smile on his face.

"I think that makes three of us!" Danny retorted.

The three men were saved from having to speak about it any further as two familiar EMTs strode up to them with Kono hot on their heels. Danny threw Chin a pleading glance and the older man understood immediately and steered Kono away.

"Andy, Jake," greeted Steve.

The two medics smiled and greeted the two men before Jake took charge, "OK Danny, what happened? Kono didn't exactly give us any details."

"Grenade went off and I ended up with shrapnel," he vaguely waved his hand behind him.

Both medics moved behind their patient to assess his injuries while Steve knelt down by Danny's head so that his partner knew he was still there for him.

The EMTs exchanged glances. Since 5-0 had started up if a call involved one of the team it had certainly never been dull, but this was a whole new level of insane. A quick conversation and the two agreed on how to treat their patient. Andy jogged back to the ambulance to retrieve the gurney. Jake inserted an IV and placed an oxygen mask over Danny's face as his stats were low, though that wasn't surprising given the shock he must have experienced.

Once the IV was in place he gave Danny some morphine, "That will help with the pain. I have to warn you that moving you is going to be painful despite the meds, but we'll be as quick as we can."

"Oh great, as if having metal sticking outta my ass isn't enough!"

Andy arrived with the gurney and Chin joined them, leaving Kono organising a search of the docks for their errant suspect. The four men carefully slid their hands under Danny's left side, moving him so that his front was resting against Chin and Steve while Andy and Jake prevented too much movement by supporting his back as much as possible. They tried not to jostle him too much but every movement renewed the sharp spiking pain and caused Danny to bite his lip to stop from crying out.

Once lowered on to the gurney, resting on his left side to keep minimum pressure on the wounds, the medics quickly covered him with a light blanket.

"How you doing Danny?" Jake asked gently.

"Sick," was the succinct reply.

Steve watched as his partner turned a distinct shade of green and then helped the medics support him as they leaned him over the side of the gurney to allow him to vomit. The SEAL could feel the tiny tremors running through his partner's body by the time he was finished.

"Contaminated the crime scene," mumbled Danny.

That got a chuckle out of Steve, "I don't think you need to be worrying about that right now," he squeezed Danny's shoulder as he helped Jake settle him back on the gurney with a pillow under his head.

"You go with Danny, Kono and I will meet you at the hospital once we've got things sorted here," Chin told Steve, "Take it easy, brah," He said to Danny patting him on the shoulder before leaving to help Kono.

The gurney was loaded into the ambulance and the doors closed before it left the docks with lights and sirens going.

- 5-0 -

Doctor Jensen rubbed a hand over his face. Detective Danny Williams was going to make him bald at the rate he was going, forget about giving him grey hair! Searching the waiting room he spotted the man he was looking for.

"Steve!"

"Doctor Jensen, how's Danny?"

"He has a lot of shrapnel embedded in his lower back, buttocks and backs of his thighs. Most of it didn't penetrate very far but there's a good seven or eight pieces that are deep. Unfortunately I'm having trouble getting Danny to cooperate!"

"How do you mean?" asked Kono concerned. It wasn't like Danny not to cooperate with Doctor Jensen. Chin had filled her in on Danny's injuries on the way over so that she wouldn't be too surprised. She now fully understood why he hadn't wanted her to be around as he was treated.

"I want to give him a sedative as we remove the pieces that have gone in deeper, but he's refusing. The problem is if he moves while I'm trying to remove one of these larger pieces of shrapnel it could cause more damage."

"I'll talk to him," Steve offered.

"I was hoping you'd say that, come with me," Doctor Jensen led the way back to the trauma room.

When Steve entered the room he could see that some of the shrapnel had already been removed from his partner's back and the wounds treated. Currently there was a sheet drawn up to his waist to preserve what was left of his dignity, which wasn't much considering he was having metal pulled out of his ass.

"Danny…" Steve sat down on a chair so he was eye level with his partner needing to be able to look him in the eye, at least he would when he opened them, "Come on Danny, look at me."

A long suffering sigh was followed by two pale blue eyes opening to look at the SEAL, "I feel like crap, leave me alone."

"Doctor Jensen says you won't let him sedate you. Why not? He says it's the best way to treat the remaining shrapnel wounds without causing more damage."

"I hurt, I'm already full of drugs, I don't want anymore!"

"Danny, if you won't let him sedate you then he's going to need to give you more pain relief and give you multiple local anaesthetics into the areas. If you have a sedative you won't even remember anything. It will be a lot less painful."

Steve looked at Danny without a hint of amusement. He was sure at some point that he'd be teasing his partner about the shrapnel in his ass and they'd laugh about it, but now was not the time. Danny was in pain and had been injured covering Steve's own ass, the SEAL needed to convince the other man that he'd be alright.

"If they sedate me they'll keep me here!"

And there it was, the real crux of the problem. Danny hated staying in the hospital, even if it was overnight. He looked at the doctor with a raised eyebrow.

"If he has someone to keep an eye on him for twenty four hours and then to help him until he's fully mobile again he will only need to stay a few hours for monitoring as the sedative wears off," Doctor Jensen informed Steve.

"There you go, you can stay with me."

"Don't wanna put you out."

"Hey, you probably saved my life today. I was standing way too close to that car, if I'd still been there when the grenade went off you'd probably be picking bits of me up from the dock. The least I can do is offer you some support and a place to stay," Steve took hold of Danny's hand to indicate how serious he was.

Staring into Steve's darker blue eyes Danny could detect no amusement or joking only sincerity, "OK, thanks."

"I can sedate you?" Doctor Jensen asked warily.

"On one condition, Steve stays."

"Fine by me," Steve assured the doctor.

Throwing his hands in the air and giving in as it was the only way his patient would capitulate and take the treatment Doctor Jensen agreed.

- 5-0 -

"You can't be serious?" Danny asked, one eyebrow raised at the nurse.

"Detective Williams this is hospital policy," she replied.

"Does hospital policy take into account the fact that I can't even SIT?"

Steve watched trying to hide his amusement. It had been three hours since Danny had been sedated to have the last of the shrapnel removed. Doctor Jensen had taken several large pieces from his lower back, his upper right thigh and one from his right ass cheek. Now that Danny had eaten and peed he was being allowed to leave with several prescriptions for pain medicine, anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants and antibiotics. Except the nurse wanted him to sit in a wheelchair, something the Detective just couldn't comply with unless he wanted to be in excruciating pain.

"Detective Williams…."

"No. N. O. I am not sitting in that wheelchair! I had metal in my ass, lady, which left a big ole hole which has been stitched and is extremely tender. How would you feel if someone asked you to sit on that?"

"I understand…"  
>"I really don't think you do, unless you're telling me that you've had the same problem?"<p>

"Well no…"

"I think the hospital would waive their policy under these circumstances nurse. He really can't sit down," Steve backed his partner.

"Then how, may I ask, is he going to get home?"

"He's going to lie down in the back seat of my truck, no sitting required."

Danny was standing, leaning heavily on Steve, with his arms crossed in defiance. At this rate he was gonna take that chair and shove it where the sun don't shine! The longer they argued about this, the longer he was standing, the more the pain was flaring up. He was going to face plant on the floor soon and then he'd probably not be discharged.

"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but these are unusual circumstances. Can't you, please, just walk us out?"

The SEAL, Danny noted, was using his best kicked puppy face. There were few people, let alone women, that could resist that face; he hoped this nurse wasn't one of the few that could.

"Alright, fine! I'll take pity on you, but if you should come back again for any reason this is not going to become the norm. Clear?"

"Crystal, thank you!" Danny sighed with relief as the three slowly made their way out to the front of the hospital where Chin had pulled up in Steve's truck.

It took some patient manoeuvring by Steve and Chin to ensure Danny was comfortable in the back seat without causing him too much pain. There had been absolutely no way to completely prevent him from experiencing some pain, short of knocking him out. Once they were sure he was comfortable as he could be and secure they set off for Steve's stopping at the pharmacy to fill his prescriptions.

- 5-0 -

Outside Steve's there was further manoeuvring required to get the injured Detective back out of the truck. There was some cursing from all three men but eventually Danny was on his feet propped up by the other two men.

The progress into the house was slow as every time Danny took a step the muscles naturally moved which caused the wounds to expand and contract, by the time they got him in the house sweat was beading on his forehead from the effort. Chin and Steve shared a glance over his head and bent at the same time to place their hands under his knees, with both their arms supporting across his shoulders, eliciting a squeak, honestly Danny would tell you it was a manly squeak, of surprise, causing Kono to giggle. The two men carried their friend upstairs to the guest bedroom.

Kono sorted out the medication that the Detective needed to take and gave him a bottle of water then left the room so he could take them and get comfortable.

With some further cursing and wincing Danny was soon settled in bed on his left side with cushions pressed against his stomach so he could roll slightly onto his front if he wanted a change of position.

The pain medication was starting to take effect much to everyone's relief. Chin patted his lower leg and left the room. Steve pulled a light sheet over his best friend.

"Thanks," Danny mumbled.

"Least I can do," replied Steve, squeezing the injured man's shoulder gently.

"Yeah, I guess. Considering I took one in the ass for you…"

There was a brief pause before Steve started laughing and left the room. Danny could hear him laughing all the way down the stairs. Danny groaned pushing his face in the pillow realising what he'd just said. This was going to come back to haunt him. He just knew it. Deciding he'd worry about that later he drifted in to a deep medicated sleep.

-5-0-

**A/N: Just for the record **I can tell you that I know exactly what being sedated is like and if it's done right the procedure is a complete blank! It's great. Except for when you discover the bruises left over from the procedure the next day!****


	8. H is for Hypothermia

**DISCLAIMER: I'm bored of writing this now as you all know I can't possibly own it! Danny would be forever in the hospital!**

**A/N: Thank you as always for the alerts and reviews. I am always humbled & shocked by the fact people enjoy reading what I write! I apologise this didn't go up sooner but was at my brother's for an early family Xmas thing as they fly to Oz on Xmas Day! On with the story!**

**Re-uploaded following a review about my error with Danny's temp! Now changed from 29 to 84 to avoid confusion! Sorry! And again for missing one that was 30 instead of 86. Whoops! *blush***

**H is for Hypothermia**

Danny Williams was cold. Not just a little chilly but shivering, teeth chattering, cold. It was taking him a while to figure out how this was even possible given that he was living on an island that even in winter had an average temperature around 70 degrees! Perhaps he was coming down with the flu, which would be just his luck. Temperature outside in the 70's and here he was shivering. He reached out to pull his bedding up higher and found nothing, reaching further he discovered that not only was there no bedding there was no bed! Beneath his hand was cold metal. There was something seriously wrong with this picture.

It took a lot of effort on his part but eventually he managed to pry his eyes open just enough to look at his surroundings. It was definitely _not_ his apartment. For one thing he didn't have just a single light fitting with only a bulb hanging from his ceiling, for another the floor of his 'home' wasn't metal and the last telling sign was that he didn't keep boxes and boxes of chilled goods on shelves. Where in the hell was he? How had he got here? What time was it? Should he be at work? So many questions and so few answers.

The Detective decided to take one question at a time, starting with where was he? It really wasn't that difficult to work out. The environment was chilly with boxes of perishable items on the shelves surrounding him. He was clearly in some sort of industrial fridge.

How had he got here? Hmmm, that one he'd come back to, things were still a little fuzzy and he needed some time to process his situation.

What time was it and should he be at work? That should also be relatively easy. Danny checked his wrist and found that he still had his watch on, the single overhead light was just enough to see by. It was 10:00. That wasn't as much help as he'd hoped since there was no way to know if that was in the morning or at night, he should have got a digital watch instead of one with a clock face. Maybe he should be at work, maybe he shouldn't. Next he patted his pants pockets to see if his cell phone had been left on him, but no such luck.

Back to the question of how he'd ended up locked… well hang on a minute, how did he know he was locked in since he hadn't checked. Wearily pushing himself to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself to try to keep the shivering under control, he moved towards the door. There was no handle, no way to open it from the inside, no window to look out of. Deciding he had nothing left to lose he banged on the door and called out, after five minutes of this and no response he figured that where ever he was there was nobody about to hear him.

Danny had no idea how long he'd been in this situation, how long he'd likely remain in this situation or how long he could survive at these temperatures. Taking a leaf out of his partner's book he decided to see what there was in the boxes that might help. Twenty tiring and frustrating minutes later he'd discovered that he was surrounded by boxes containing cartons of milk, butter and fruit… lots and lots of fruit, which included more than enough pineapples. Of course, what else would there be in a fridge on this pineapple infested hell hole?

There was really nothing in the boxes that could help. Even if he was thirsty the last thing he wanted right now was a drink of chilled milk.

Having grown up in New Jersey Danny was all too familiar with hypothermia and the symptoms. There had been more than one occasion where as a beat cop he'd pulled a homeless person out of a snow pile suffering from hypothermia. Thinking it through he knew that he was starting to show signs with the constant shivering that had set in.

Needing something to do that would help him keep moving he decided that in case his situation got worse he needed to make sure there was something on the floor that he could potentially sit or lay on, something that wasn't the cold metal. This was easy enough. There were lots of cardboard boxes. Emptying out some of them he flattened them out and laid them along the floor against some of the other boxes ensuring that there were several layers. Flattening some more he put them nearby, if push came to shove he might be able to use those to keep some of his own body warmth for a short period. When he was done he had three walls of boxes filled with goods with a pile of flattened boxes in the middle just big enough for him to curl up in. That would have to do. Naturally he was hoping that somewhere out there Steve, Chin and Kono had realised he was in trouble and were minutes away from finding him. A guy has to have hopes.

Walking slowly back and forth he started to think about how he had found himself in this mess. There was something nagging at the back of his mind…

He looked down at what he was wearing. Dress pants and shirt, that meant he was dressed for work. Had something happened as he came home from work or as he was going to work? Somewhere in the cotton wool that was currently his brain there was an answer and he was going to dig until he found it.

Absentmindedly strolling in the small space available he let his mind wander to the last thing he remembers. He was closing the apartment door, locking it, heading for his car… then something over his mouth… then he came to in this place. Damn someone grabbed him outside his apartment, they must have drugged him with chloroform or something, how cliché!

That means he was taken at around 07:00 AM, on his way to the office! That meant they'd know he was missing. Good. Now had he been missing three hours or fifteen? Given the fact he was still alive and only in the early stages of hypothermia he'd have to go with three hours. Danny checked his watch, alright three and a half now.

-5-0-

Steve had been waiting for Danny to come into the office for over thirty minutes now. He'd tried calling him and got no answer.

There was no doubt that the SEAL was in a bad mood. His partner had said he would be in the office early so they could go over some of the reports before he met with the Governor! Unbelievable. Trying Danny's cell again and getting no answer he slammed the receiver down.

"Whoa Boss, what the phone do to you?" asked Kono sticking her head into the office as the door was open.

Running a hand through his hair he looked a little apologetic, "Morning Kono, sorry bad start to the day!"

"Oh, where's Danny?"

"He's the reason for the bad start to my day!" growled Steve.

Chin appeared behind his cousin, "What's that?"

"Danny was supposed to be in early to go over some reports, he's not here and he's not answering his cell!"

"Well that doesn't sound like him. I'll run a quick trace on his cell," Chin stated before heading to the computer table followed by Kono and Steve, "Well that's interesting…"

"What?"

"This shows he's at his apartment."

"I'm going over there," Steve strode towards the door, "If he turns up here or calls in let me know."

Kono and Chin exchanged glances. They were both in two minds about what they wanted Steve to find. If Danny was at his apartment then Steve was likely to tear a strip off him but if his phone was there and he wasn't….

-5-0-

Danny's shivering had now gone from constant to violent waves with complete stillness in between, the walking no longer able to ward off the bone chilling cold. His co-ordination had also started to fail and he was starting to stumble over his own two feet but he was determined to keep moving as long as possible. The longer he could keep a reasonable amount of heat being generated by his own body the longer he had for someone to find him; minutes could make all the difference.

Checking his watch for the hundredth time since coming round in this frozen hell he saw that another hour had passed. Worst case scenario he had been in the cold for around four and a half hours. It didn't seem all that long in the grand scheme of things…

Then he remembered something, he was supposed to appear in court this afternoon! While Steve had been off on one of his Navy Reservist action weekends the team had caught a drug smuggling case and Danny's testimony was all that now stood between the head of the group and freedom! While Chin, Kono and HPD had been rounding up the lower level smugglers, Danny had found the proof to link a well-respected business man, Dimitri Valenkov, as the head of the group. As he had found it he would be the one who would need to talk the court through the steps he took. It seemed he had his answer as to why he had been shut in the fridge.

On his next walk round he finally lost his footing and didn't have the energy to get back up so finally he crawled into the space he'd created between the boxes, pulling other flat boxes with him and covered himself up hoping that he didn't end up never getting up again.

-5-0-

While waiting for Steve to call Kono had decided to assume the worst and start looking at what had been happening over the last few months, that's when she spotted Danny's court appearance this afternoon…

"Chin! Look at this…" she pointed to Danny's calendar.

"That can't be a coincidence."

"What is it you told me? Coincidence takes planning?"

"That's right Cuz," Chin pulled out his cell and dialled his boss.

"McGarrett."

"Steve…"  
>"He's not at his apartment Chin. His phone and car are here but no sign of Danny," there was no longer any anger just concern.<p>

Chin quickly told Steve what Kono had found, describing the reason behind Danny being the only one on the team that could put this particular scumbag behind bars.

"Alright, get a list together of all known associates for anyone involved in the ring. Even if they just passed each other with a nod, I wanna know about it. We have to find Danny!"

Kono and Chin quickly turned their attention to the searches while Steve headed back to the Palace, calling the Governor on his way back to let him know what was going on. In turn the Governor promised to let the DA know and have them request a continuance.

Steve was back at the Palace having broken multiple traffic laws, something he would have had an earful from Danny for had he been in the truck, but since he wasn't and it looked like he was in trouble Steve ignored the little Danny angel sitting on his shoulder and listened to the Super SEAL devil instead.

"What have we got?"

"A list of about twenty names so far Boss. All have some tie with either the leader of the ring that Danny is testifying against or one of his crew."

"Divide it up and start making enquiries as to where they were this morning, each of you take an HPD officer with you. Danny would have had to leave his place about 07:00 to get in here as early as he planned. Anyone unable to provide an alibi have HPD haul them in for questioning."

"Where will you be?"

"I'm going to speak to Kamekona, see if he's heard anything on the coconut wireless."

-5-0-

Danny was no longer shivering. He was sure this was a bad thing but he couldn't find the energy to care. It was just as well he was tucked away in the small space he was in otherwise the fact that he wasn't thinking clearly could have had him doing something really stupid, as it was there was no energy for movement. His whole body felt stiff and frozen. The last clear thought to enter his head was that he was likely going to die of hypothermia on a tropical island. Oh the irony! He welcomed the blackness that washed over him as he slid into unconsciousness.

-5-0-

Steve pulled up to the kerb near Waiola Shave Ice and jogged over so that he could speak to Kamekona.

"Hey! Howzit brah?" asked the large man behind the counter.

"Kamekona, I really need your help."

The Hawaiian took one look at the SEAL's face and moved from behind the counter to one of the picnic benches out front, away from tourists and locals munching on their shave ice.

"Wassup?"

"Danny's missing…"  
>"Little haole's missing?"<p>

"Yeah."

"How can I help?"

"What do you know about the drug smuggling ring that 5-0 smashed recently?"

"Oh, dat was a big thing brah! All over da news."

"I think that his disappearance has something to do with that. There was no sign of a struggle at his apartment. His phone and car are still there…."

"You want me to see if I can get any info huh?"

"Yes, Kamekona, that's exactly what I need from you. Can you do it?"

"Eh. Have I ever let ya down brah?"

"Thanks big man! Call me," Steve was back in the car before Kamekona could even get up from the table.

-5-0-

A couple of hours later the three remaining members of 5-0 were gathered around the computer table.

"All alibis checked out except for these two. We can't find them anywhere," Kono threw two mug shots of two men up onto the plasma screen for the others to see.

"That's Kyle and Kane Palakiko. Brothers. Their arrest record shows petty crimes, shoplifting, breaking and entering, but nothing violent and nothing involving drugs or smuggling!"

"What's their connection then?"

"They went to school with one of Dimitri Valenkov's crew."

"Good enough…" Steve was cut off when his cell rang, "McGarrett."

"_I got a coupla names," Kamekona stated not wasting time._

Steve flipped his phone to speaker, "Go ahead."

"_Kyle and Kane Palakiko…"_

"We just came to the same conclusion," Kono informed him.

"_Dey been boasting about offing a 5-0 cop. Dey not smart!"_

"Do you know where they are now?"

"_Word has it that dey drinking their fee over at The Golden Dolphin."_

"I owe you one Kamekona," Steve told the big man.

"_Just bring da haole home safe," responded Kamekona before hanging up._

"Let's go!" Steve led the remainder of his team out of the Palace and they all piled into his truck heading for the less than classy Golden Dolphin.

-5-0-

It had taken the 5-0 team less than an hour to collect their two suspects, bring them back for interrogation and get the answers they needed out of them. The pair had thought entering the 'big leagues' was easy until they were faced with an angry Navy SEAL. He didn't shout but was icy calm, casually detailing all the different ways he knew to hurt someone and not leave a mark. Combine that with the stoic glare of the older Hawaiian detective and the two caved in no time.

Steve, Chin and Kono ran from the building, "Call EMS, tell them we have a potential case of hypothermia, condition not yet known," Steve jumped behind the wheel of his truck heading for the closed restaurant where the Palakiko brothers had chosen to put Danny on ice, literally.

Kono called and requested the ambulance, giving details of the location and the concern for hypothermia. They knew he'd been shut in a fridge at just above freezing temperatures for around five hours. There was no way to know if he was even alive.

The truck came to a screeching halt outside the restaurant at the same time as the EMTs pulled up.

"Steve, what's going on?"

"Jake, Andy, wait here while we clear the building," Steve instructed the EMT before taking Chin and Kono inside.

Five minutes later Chin was back beckoning the two EMTs to follow him; they pushed their gurney in with them. When they entered the kitchen area the medics could see a door to an industrial sized refrigeration unit standing open and could hear things being moved around.

"Danny's in there," Chin directed them to the door.

Jake and Andy entered the fridge shivering as the cool air touched their skin. Steve and Kono were kneeling either side of a prone Danny. The man in question looked blue.

"Steve, Kono, we need you to step back out of the way please," Jake told the pair, firmly but softly. Andy moved the gurney in and ever so carefully they lifted Danny onto it. Any jostling could cause his heart to stop if indeed it was beating, but the first step was to remove him from the area.

They quickly moved the gurney and lifted it into the back of the ambulance. Jake could now asses his patient easier. He placed his fingers on Danny's carotid pulse he felt nothing but knew that in the case of severe hypothermia it wasn't always possible to feel a pulse straight away. "Got a pulse, it's very slow."

"Breathing is shallow," informed Andy.

The two medics now knew they were fighting to keep Danny breathing and his heart pumping. There was a flurry of activity as Andy hooked up humidified, warmed oxygen and searched desperately for a vein, which he found in Danny's neck, so that he could give warmed saline with a 5% dextrose solution.

Jake was busy getting a core body temperature, "Damn! Temp is 84 degrees, we need to get him to the hospital," he grabbed a couple of blankets and laid them on Danny now that they'd taken his vitals and done what they could his best chance was to get him to hospital and quickly.

Andy moved to the driver's seat, Steve jumped into the back and Chin closed the doors. The ambulance took off with lights and sirens going. Chin and Kono were in Steve's truck and following just seconds later.

-5-0-

Doctor Jensen was standing by in the ER waiting for Danny Williams to be wheeled in. The hospital had been notified by the EMTs as soon as they realised they had a severely hypothermic patient. This gave the staff a chance to prepare. As soon as the EMTs burst through the ER doors they were directed to the resuscitation trauma room.

"Jake?"

"Danny was found in nearly freezing temperatures in an industrial fridge. Believed to have been there for around five hours. Pulse 45 BPM; breathing 10 resps; core temp 84 degrees; BP 104/69. A litre of warm saline with 5% dextrose. Non-responsive throughout."

"Gently does it as we move him across people," Doctor Jensen ordered, "Get me a set of vitals, some warm blankets and some more warmed IV solution. Insert a Foley with a temperature sensor so we can get a constant core temperature reading. I'm going to intubate," Doctor Jenkins stepped to the head of the bed and quickly inserted the endotracheal tube which was then hooked to a ventilator with warmed humidified air being administered to help not only Danny's breathing but his core temperature.

"Pulse 40, BP 100/60" a nurse reported.

"Foley's in place. Core temperature is still 84 degrees," reported another nurse.

The staff in the room held their breath for a few minutes waiting to see if Danny's core temperature would climb even slightly, the hope was dashed and Doctor Jensen knew he'd have to do something more drastic as he heard a nurse speak.

"BP dropped to 70/40."

"Set up for a thoracic lavage," Doctor Jensen instructed.

The team didn't even blink at the instructions and before he could even prep his patient the equipment he needed was available. He wiped an area over Danny's left side and made an incision in the space just above the fourth rib in line with the middle of the clavicle and inserted the first chest tube and then moved to make another incision in the space above the seventh rib round the side underneath the armpit then inserted a second chest tube. The staff then infused bags of saline that had been heated through the top tube so that it ran out the tube lower down. It wasn't pretty but Doctor Jensen hoped it would be effective; all they could do now was continue infusing the warmed saline and monitor his temperature and vitals.

-5-0-

"It's been over an hour since they took him back there!" Steve grumbled to nobody in particular.

"I spoke to Jake when we arrived; he was out restocking the ambulance. He said that Danny's condition is critical and it will likely be a while before we hear anything," the words were less than reassuring to Steve and Chin.

"Have you called Rachel?"

Steve looked at Chin, "Not yet. I want to hear how he is so I have something to tell her about his condition."

The doors to the trauma area whooshed open and a stressed, tired looking Doctor Jensen stepped out and approached the team. Waving them back into their seats he pulled up a chair opposite them.

"Sorry I couldn't come out sooner but we've had a bit of a battle on our hands. When Danny was admitted his core temperature was less than 86 degrees, which means he was severely hypothermic. When we tried passive methods of rewarming they proved to be insufficient so more aggressive treatment was required. I'm happy to say that he's stable and is now being moved to the ICU where they will continue to bring his core temperature back up. Currently Danny is on a ventilator but once the staff in the ICU are comfortable that his core temperature has been maintained they will slowly wean him off it."

"He's going to be alright?" Tears of relief shone in Kono's eyes.

"As I always say under these circumstances, barring any complications. He's been very lucky. Much longer…" The doctor didn't need to finish that sentence, "Anyway, if you go on up to ICU, Akela is on duty there tonight and is expecting you."

"Doctor Jensen?"

"Yes Steve?" The doctor was wary due to the uncertain tone in Steve's voice. Like he had a question but wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"When you say more aggressive measures?"

"Keeping it simple… We used two chest tubes. One in the front, one lower down at the side, warmed saline poured through allowing warming from the inside out."

Steve cringed, he could probably have lived without knowing that but he figured Danny would know as there had to be two incisions, that meant Steve needed to know so he could help his best friend through the after effects of his ordeal.

"Thanks Doc," Steve shook his hand and followed his team mates to the elevators so they could go and once again keep vigil by Danny's bed.

-5-0-

The following morning saw Danny's core temperature back to normal and stable. The staff removed him from the ventilator before he was even aware that he was on one and moved him to a step down unit with less monitoring which would allow longer periods of rest as he became more aware.

Rachel had called for an update, Steve having let her know the previous night what had happened. When she had been told that Danny would be off the ventilator she had promised to bring Grace by after school.

Steve, Chin and Kono remained by his side, unwilling and unable to leave until they could see him awake, only when they heard his voice would they truly believe that he was going to be fine. For once the New Jersey Detective wasn't interested in talking; clearly he was content to snooze the day away since there hadn't been any movement or sound.

"Why is it when you want him to talk, he doesn't and when you don't want him to talk he won't shut up?" Steve asked frustrated at the lack of progress.

"Ha, I think he knows it's what we're waiting for and he's decided to just make us wait until he's good and ready," Kono stated.

"Or maybe it's because he was practically frozen to death this time yesterday and he needs some more time for his body to heal?" Chin reasonably pointed out, grinning at the other two as they shot him a glare each.

"Mmm. Think ya can keep it down in here? Some of us are trying to sleep!" mumbled Danny sleepily, in a voice that didn't sound like his since it was croaky, a combination of lack of use and having been on a ventilator. Kono leaned forward and pressed the button to let the nurse know he was awake.

"Danno!" Steve smiled.

The eyes of the man in question opened at that and looked around the room, "I don't see my daughter, which means you didn't just call me Danno!" The glare that the patient mustered was somewhat lacking in its usual heat due to the tiredness of the glarer.

Steve gave his partner the biggest, goofiest grin he could manage, "Good to see you awake, man."

"Goof!"

"Here Danny, have some of this it will help with your throat," suggested Kono helpfully, holding a cup of water with a straw for him to drink from.

"Thanks babe," Danny smiled wearily at her once he'd taken a few sips.

"Seriously brah, how you feeling?" Chin placed a hand on Danny's knee.

"Like I was frozen and been defrosted?" It was part answer, part question.

"That's kind of an accurate description actually!"  
>"Steve!" Kono punched him lightly on the arm.<p>

"What? It's true!"

"Neanderthal!"

"I see everything is getting back to normal in here," a voice stated from the doorway.

"Hey Doctor Jensen, look whose awake!" a grinning Steve pointed at the man in the bed.

"So I see. The nurse answered the call button but heard you all talking and decided to page me so I could see for myself!" Doctor Jensen took Danny's chart and reviewed the information on his vitals which were being recorded every hour, "Everything is looking good Danny."

"When can I get out of here?"

Steve, "Now slow down just a minute…"

Chin, "I don't think…"

Kono, "Danny, you just woke…"

"Enough! I'm the Doctor in the room so I'll answer the patient's question, if you don't mind!" Doctor Jensen rolled his eyes. This was why he liked the ER sometimes, you got a patient stable then another doctor took over their care. Unfortunately he was one of those doctors that liked to follow up on his patients, especially his regulars.

"So?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You'll spend the next twenty four hours in this room. It's not ICU, but is considered a step down unit where there is still the constant monitoring required for less seriously ill patients. If all remains stable you'll be moved to a private room for a further twenty four hours. Then, barring any complications, you'll be released. You're currently on antibiotics to prevent pneumonia and infection. You also have a couple of incisions on your torso due to chest tubes so we have you on some pain medication. The stitches will dissolve on their own in the next couple of weeks. Danny you've been very lucky. There are no signs of frostbite or other complications that can come from such a severe hypothermic reaction but that doesn't mean that when you get out of hospital you go straight back to work. It's going to take time for you to be fully up to strength again."

"Will you stay with me when you get out?" Steve asked.

Danny gave the SEAL an assessing glance. If he was honest with himself, and he always tried to be, this had been too close from the sounds of things. He wasn't yet ready to hear all the gory details of what had happened, how they'd found him and what treatment he had received. Chest tubes? Really? Definitely not ready for that explanation. Maybe a few days at Steve's resting in the sun, not feeling cold, would be good. "Yes, Steve, I will stay with you when I am released. Thank you."

"Good. Now I'm going to leave you to rest," Doctor Jensen looked pointedly at the rest of the team.

"Thanks Doctor Jensen," Danny held out his hand and the doctor shook it, smiled and left.

Considering he had only been awake a short time Danny was feeling exhausted and couldn't hide the wide yawn.

"Doc's right, you need to get some rest. Grace will be in later and you want to be awake for that," Steve pointed out.

"Hmm," Danny nodded and started to sink back into the pillows.

Kono pulled the blankets up under his chin, "You warm enough?"

"Uh huh."

"See you later brah," Chin smiled as he watched the detective drift into sleep.

"You guys head off, I'm gonna stay a little longer."

The cousins exchanged another of their looks that spoke volumes if only you knew the private language, before leaving.

Danny shifted in his sleep, the blankets sliding off his shoulders slightly and a small shiver ran through his body.

Steve leaned forward and pulled the covers back up, tucking them around his friend's shoulders, "It's alright brother, I'm here and I've got your back."


	9. I is for Insect

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. Never will be. Such is life.**

**A/N: Thank you for all the feedback for the last chapter. I made the temp changes. It's really helpful when people point those kinds of things out to me as it's the little details that I sometimes miss! Some of you are starting to make requests for what you want to see being tackled going forward, I'm happy to take suggestions and if I can incorporate it into one of the remaining chapters that I have planned then I will try to do so. **

**I is for Insect**

Steve McGarrett stood with his hands on his hips looking down at his partner, Danny Williams, in exasperation, "Come on Danny! Get up, we're almost there!"

The unhappy detective glared at his so called friend, "Who's idea was it for us," here he emphasises his point by using his hand to indicate Steve then himself, "to hike through the rain forest to, and I quote here, see if the suspect is using his cabin?"

"Mine."

"That's right Steven, yours! It's like a hundred degrees out here and you expect me to just walk in this heat for over two hours without stopping once! I ask you if we can stop, once! I wanted a drink and to take the weight off my feet for ten lousy minutes and you can't even wait two freaking minutes! Not all of us are Super SEALs! Need I remind you that I am from New Jersey? Where I come from there aren't any rain forests! Hiking is not top of my list of things I enjoy doing in any weather, let alone HUNDRED degree HEAT!"

"You done?"

"Am I done? He asks! NO Steven, I am NOT done! I am going to sit here and have a nice drink of water and you, my friend, are gonna stand there and patiently wait!"

Steve opens his mouth to argue but thinks better of it. If he lets Danny just have a few minutes to rest then he can save himself at least another fifteen minutes of ranting. He has to be fair Danny hasn't complained once up until this point. When Steve suggested he and Danny hike into the forest he received a raised eyebrow from their team mates, Chin and Kono.

The whole team knew that the Detective from New Jersey wasn't a particularly outdoorsy kind of person but they were all surprised when the man in question stood up and simply replied, "Let's go. Need to swing by my apartment to change."

Danny finished his drink and replaced the bottle in his backpack, got to his feet and looked at Steve, "Alright then Super SEAL, lead the way! What are you waiting for?"

"What am I…? Never mind!" Steve grinned and shook his head. He could always rely on Danny to provide entertainment.

The two men walked for another thirty minutes in silence before Steve put up his hand to stop Danny in his tracks. Motioning for his partner to stay put he moved quietly forward before returning to his friend's side.

Steve whispered, "Cabin is in a clearing, I can't see any signs of movement. I'm going to circle round to the back. You watch the front of the cabin," once he got a nod from Danny the SEAL disappeared silently off to the right, into the undergrowth.

Equally quietly Danny moved forward until he had the cabin in sight. He may not be a Navy SEAL but even he could tread silently when the need arose and if their suspect was here then the need for silence was definitely a requirement. The guy they were here to apprehend, Kai Kahue, was suspected of being a hired killer. An attempt had been made on a visiting dignitary and all roads had led back to this man. If someone got in his way then he would dispose of them, man, woman or child, it didn't matter, a stone cold killer. Danny shivered.

Hidden from view behind a tree it was Danny that spotted the man coming in from the left towards the front of the cabin, "Steve, he's just walked into the clearing out front," he whispered into the mic at his wrist.

"Copy. Working my way round the back. Gonna be a few minutes."

"He'll have made it inside by then, if he does we'll have a major problem," Danny had no doubt the man had multiple weapons on him, but even more in the cabin.

"Stay… Damn!"

"Steve?"

"Got to go further into the forest to get round to the other side of the cabin."

"He's gonna pass twelve foot in front of me in about two minutes Steve!" Danny had watched the Kahue enter the clearing, place a backpack on the porch at the front and then start to do a perimeter check, walking the edge of the clearing.

"Get out of there…."

Steve didn't get any further as he heard his partner's voice, "5-0! Hands in the air and get on your knees."

'_No, no, no!' _Steve thought as he ran back the way he'd come in order to get to his partner faster. This could go very bad very quickly.

"I haven't done anything," stated Kahue calmly.

"Then you won't mind putting your hands in the air and getting on your knees, will you?"

"Actually, I would," a knife appeared seemingly out of nowhere but at the exact moment the killer went to throw it he heard Steve come crashing into the clearing to his left, all thought of a quiet approach gone when he saw Danny and the killer eyeing each other like they were pieces of prime rib. The man's knife went wide failing to be the fatal blow that perhaps Kahue had intended, though it did result in Danny's weapon being knocked from his hand as he instinctively moved.

Steve had drawn his weapon as he ran through the forest and now had Kahue clearly in his sights, finger over the trigger. He watched Kahue shift his gaze between them and a split second later the killer made his decision and another knife dropped into his hand and flew in Steve's direction. With a move made easy by his years as a SEAL he fired his weapon and dropped to the ground narrowly avoiding the knife and rolled back on to his feet knowing that his shot wouldn't have been as accurate as he would have liked.

Kahue cursed as a bullet struck his arm but turned to make his escape through the forest, he hadn't counted on the smaller man who he had somehow managed to discount.

Danny had watched as the knife flew at Steve and moved to claim his gun from several feet away where it had landed but was stopped by the sound of his partner's gun firing. Although Danny desperately wanted to make sure Steve was alright his focus was entirely on Kahue who had already taken a step to make a run for it. This man had threatened a dignitary and his young family, thrown knives at him and his partner and successfully killed a lot of innocent people. Danny Williams was mad, not just, I'm going to rant at you for thirty minutes mad, but blood boiling, make a stupid decision, mad!

He threw himself across the short distance and tackled Kahue around the knees, bringing him to the ground and landing them both in a small pond of stagnant water. The only sound Danny heard was his blood in his ears as he punched Kahue in the face, stunning the man so completely that even Steve was surprised as he ran over to help his partner cuff their man and remove any further weapons.

"Danny?" Steve's voice was laced with concern.

"And that, Steven, is why you should never underestimate a slightly vertically challenged New Jersey Detective!"

Steve huffed out a laugh as he pulled Kahue to his feet. Blood was coming from a wound on his arm and his nose was bleeding where Danny had pretty effectively broken it but he was still conscious, if a little dazed.

"Are you OK Steve?"

"I'm good, you?"

"I'm wet. And I smell. That water was disgusting!"

"At least you'll dry off on the walk back!" Steve grinned at his partner.

"Dry on the walk back? Really? You want to walk nearly three hours back to civilisation with this… this… thing?"

"Well what would you suggest Danny?"

"How about you call on one of your many friends and get a chopper out here? Then I don't have to walk back through this rain forest on this pineapple infested hell hole! And just for the record I'm never going into a rain forest with you again! Never! Nope."

"Aw come on Danno it wasn't that bad! We got our guy."

"Don't call me Danno!" He grabbed Kahue while Steve pulled out his satellite phone to call Chin and request assistance. Danny was right, not that he'd tell him that, there was no way they should be walking through the rain forest with Kahue. Once he recovered from the gunshot and the punch delivered by Danny he would be too hard to control in this environment.

-5-0-

Danny and Steve entered the 5-0 office to be greeted by Chin and Kono. Both men were covered in sweat and dirt from their trek through the forest but Danny was, well to be polite he was a little smelly. Of course his team mates weren't polite.

"Whoa, brah, you stink! Do you want us to contact the hazmat team?" Kono put her hand over her nose and mouth.

"Did you go swimming in a sewer?" Chin copied his cousin's action as soon as the detective got close and held out his hand to keep him away.

"Oh, you're funny. No really, you are. I'm getting my gear and hitting the shower," his own smell was making him nauseous.

"Oh no! You're not going into any of the offices. Shower, now!" Steve pointed him back out the main office. Having been with him for a while he hadn't realised how bad the smell was until the others mentioned it, "Kono tell maintenance they might want to disinfect the showers when he's done!"

"Steven, my change of clothes, towel and toiletries are in my office. I can't shower unless I have those," Danny pointed out reasonably while glaring at his friends.

"I'll get it, you, go, get out of here!" Chin wanted to turn Danny round and push him out the door, but that would have meant touching him.

"Fine," rolling his eyes Danny left the room as Chin went to get his things.

"You too Steve," Kono directed as she in turn gathered his things from his office and handed them to Chin so he could drop it off in the men's shower room for them.

Twenty minutes later Steve was back in his office completing his report to send to the Governor. Danny had still not returned from the showers.

"He still in the showers?" Kono asked poking her head round the door.

Steve chuckled in response, "Yeah. I asked him if he was nearly done as I was leaving and the language is really not repeatable!"

"Can't blame him. If I'd smelt like that I'd be staying under the hot water as long as possible," Chin joined his team mates, "What happened for him to end up in that state?"

"He tackled Kahue and the pair of them landed in a pond of stagnant water," Steve grimaced.

"He is up to date with all his shots isn't he?" joked Kono.

"That's not funny," Danny said from behind her, "That water was disgusting! I still don't feel clean now and I showered with practically scalding hot water for twenty minutes!"

"Let's call it a day and go grab food and a beer, what do ya say?" suggested Steve. He received a unanimous positive response. The reports could wait until tomorrow.

-5-0-

After eating dinner with the team Danny headed back to his apartment, tired out from the day's activities he showered again and then went straight to bed.

He was woken before his alarm the next morning by several itching patches of skin on his arms. Groaning he peeled open his eyes to the early morning light and lifted his arms to find a dozen tiny pale bumps on each of them.

"Oh great. Mosquito bites from my fun trip to the rain forest yesterday, what a great souvenir!"

Dragging himself out of bed as the alarm was due to go off shortly anyway, he showered again then found some cream that he'd used for when Grace had been bitten and smothered his arms in it, grumbling to himself the whole time. He knew scratching at them was the wrong thing to do so he put on a light long sleeve shirt that he hoped would prevent him from rubbing at them. It might have worked but the material brushing over them was tickling them and causing another round of itching, it was driving him crazy. Switching his shirt for a short sleeved one instead he knew that the team were gonna spend the rest of the day teasing him about the bites. Still they couldn't see the worst ones which were hidden by the sleeves; he had about half a dozen on his right bicep area that were already large and turning pink. The ones on his lower arm were smaller at least.

Danny drove to the Palace, shut himself in his office and started writing his report. By the time the others made it in he was almost done. He might have finished if he hadn't found himself absently scratching at his arms on numerous occasions. A knock at the door drew his attention away as it opened without him giving the person permission to enter, but then again since when did Steve ever wait.

"Morning," Danny looked up at his partner briefly then turned his attention back to his report putting the finishing touches to it, signed it and handed it to Steve.

"Hey," Steve watched his partner for a moment before entering the office and waiting silently for further acknowledgement of his presence. When none was forthcoming he started to leave until Danny waved a report at him. Reaching over he took it and at the same time noticed his arm, "Mosquitoes decided you were tasty brah!"

"Tell me about it! The bites are driving me crazy!" Danny growled while rubbing his hand up and down his lower arm.

"Leave them alone, you'll make them worse. Didn't you use repellent?"

"Yes Mom, I used repellent! Clearly the mosquitoes in that stagnant water were immune to it!"

"What's going on?" Kono asked from behind Steve.

"Danny's covered in bites," Steve supplied, with just a hint of glee in his voice before he schooled his features into a look of concern.

Kono didn't miss the glee and punched him, "Play nice boss!" Looking over at Danny she noticed he was scratching, "Hey! Stop that, you'll make them worse!"

"Tell them to stop itching then!"

"Have you used anything on them brah?" Chin asked standing beside Kono.

"Yeah. Cream that I had for Grace when she was bitten, doesn't seem to be helping though."

"You need to give the cream a chance to work Danny and _stop_ scratching!" advised Chin.

Danny rolled his eyes having been told by each of his team mates to stop scratching despite the fact that his skin actually felt like it was crawling with the need to be scratched. There was no way he was going to stop without a little help, so he sat on his hands, much to his team's amusement.

"That's how you're gonna stop scratching? Sitting on your hands! How you gonna talk?" Steve wanted to know, referring to his partner's penchant for throwing his hands around during every conversation.

"I can talk fine without use of my hands thank you Steven!"

"Do you want me to cuff your hands together and then you won't be able to scratch?" offered Kono helpfully.

"Er, sexual harassment in the work place mean anything to you rookie?"

Steve's phone rang interrupting the continued discussions on how to prevent Danny from scratching his arms, much to his relief.

"Got a case," the SEAL made his way out to the main room by the computer table and the team gathered round. Eyeing Danny critically Steve spoke to him, "Hands in your pockets!"

"Huh?"

"Only way you're not scratching right now is if you put your hands in your pockets!"

"Fine!" Danny slipped both his hands in his pants pockets, "Now what's the case?"

"Armed robbery at Tiffany's in Ala Moana Center," Steve supplied.

"Anyone hurt?" asked Danny, immediately distracted from his itching arms.

"No. There were four masked gunmen, all carrying semi-automatics. They struck just as the store was opening so luckily the mall was quiet in comparison to what it could have been."

It was a sobering thought. The last thing they needed was a crew going around committing armed robberies, didn't matter that they hadn't hurt anyone this time, if they did enough someone would get hurt in the end and it was likely to be an innocent bystander.

-5-0-

It had been a long day for the 5-0 team; they had worked tirelessly along with HPD to try to identify and catch the armed robbers but had so far failed to do so.

"That's it, call it a night," Steve instructed watching as Chin and Kono secured the computer table, Danny went into his office to shut down his PC and turned out the lights. The four then left the Palace at the same time going in separate directions, for once nobody suggested getting dinner as they all just wanted to get some rest before starting again the following morning.

Danny threw his keys on the kitchen counter and headed straight for the shower. The day had been non-stop and he hadn't even had a chance to think about the bites on his arms, now though the itchy feeling kicked back in. Sighing he pulled on sweatpants and smothered his arms in cream and tried desperately not to scratch. Putting the TV on he stretched out on his bed and tried to distract himself, eventually falling asleep to the mumbling of Animal Planet.

The morning came all too quickly and Danny dragged his tired body out of bed. Deciding to fold the bed back into a sofa he realised that there was blood on his sheet. He had no clue where it had come from but he stripped the sheet off and put on a clean one knowing he wouldn't be likely to want to do it when he got in later, then he folded the bed back. Another shower was needed so he went into the bathroom, it was then he discovered where the blood had come from.

At some point during the night he must have scratched at his bites because there was blood over his upper right arm, which was where the biggest and angriest bites were. Vowing to stop scratching he took his shower and pulled on a shirt to cover the bites that looked even worse now he'd managed to break them open. Still they were scabbed over now so there should be no further problems.

That afternoon Danny and Steve went out to a pawn shop that was high on their list for potential places to be approached to sell off the goods stolen at Tiffanys.

"Babe, do me a favour?"

"What's that?"

"No grenades this time, please!" Danny put his hands together in an imploring gesture.

"No grenades. What about…?"

Before Steve could even finish that sentence he was interrupted, "No, no unnecessary uses of force! If we can't gain entry we get a warrant! It's called procedure Steven!"

Both men entered the shop and were greeted by the owner, "How can I help you fine gentleman today?"

"Save the sales pitch," Danny instructed, holding up his badge. We need to ask you some questions."

"Oh sure, just give me a minute to put this in my safe," he indicated some random article that was in his hand.

Danny looked at Steve and sighed, "He's gonna run out the back door isn't he?" he was already running out the front as he started the sentence.

"You take the left, I'll go right," Steve called as they split up round either side of the building.

Rounding the rear of the building Danny could see the man just a few feet away and increased his speed. The Detective wasn't sure if he was lucky or not but the back door opened up nearer to the left side of the building meaning Danny was closer, "Stop or I'm gonna shoot you!" It was an idle threat since the man didn't appear to be armed. Cursing Danny got closer and slid along the ground taking out the man's legs as if he was going for the winning run at a baseball game. The man crumbled to the ground, partially landing on Danny.

Steve was a couple of steps behind, "Nice move! On your feet!" he grabbed the pawn shop owner by the scruff of his shirt and cuffed him while his partner pushed up from the ground and dusted his clothes off, "You alright?"

"Fine," replied the clearly unhappy Detective.

"Er, you got blood on the sleeve of your shirt," Steve pointed out.

Looking at where Steve indicated he groaned, "Another shirt ruined. It's nothing babe, just a scratch," the man knew full well that the scabs had likely just been knocked off the bites that he'd scratched until they bled. Still he'd been asleep so he couldn't really be blamed.

They handed their prisoner over to HPD and called in the Crime Scene guys to catalogue all the merchandise in the store. No way would the man have run if he had nothing in the store to hide.

-5-0-

It was a full twenty four hours after their visit to the pawn shop before the team were able to leave the office again. None of the valuable items in the shop had been from the armed robbery at Tiffany's but it had opened up a whole new can of worms. The stolen goods had come from multiple home invasions. They interrogated the pawn shop owner, they'd then tracked down the leads he provided and finally arrested the pair of thieves that had been eluding HPD on and off for a year because no two invasions were the same and were far enough apart to avoid being linked. The couple had made one fatal error; they had used the same pawn shop to offload all their stolen goods.

By the time the reports were done Danny could hardly see straight. He had a headache that wouldn't quit and he was feeling rather like he was coming down with a cold, though he was sure it was just tiredness kicking in.

"Hey man, you look beat, come on I'll give you a ride home," Danny looked up to see Steve leaning on the doorframe to his office.

For once Danny was glad of the offer, "Yeah, OK, thanks. Chin and Kono gone already?"

Steve looked at his partner with concern, "They left about an hour ago, even stuck their head in and said they'd see you tomorrow."

"Huh, must be more tired than I thought," he wiped his hand across his eyes, switched off his computer and pushed up from his chair to follow his partner out.

They hadn't been in the car two minutes and Danny was gently snoring. Steve glanced across at his best friend, worry creasing his brow. If he wasn't mistaken Danny was paler than usual as well. Deciding that he would be happier if he could keep an eye on him Steve turned towards his house.

"Come on brah, time to wake up. I'm not carrying your sorry ass into the house," Steve nudged Danny awake.

"Sorry, didn't mean to fall…. Er, this isn't my apartment Steven!"

"Wow, you could be a Detective!"

"Steve, come on. I'm too tired for this!"

"You're going to come inside, have something to eat, take a shower and sleep in my guest room," Steve's tone was firm.

"I don't have any clean clothes for tomorrow," he stated somewhat petulantly.

"Don't give me that. I happen to know you keep a bag in the trunk with everything you need in case you get a call into work when you're out with Grace!"

"You've been snooping Super SEAL!" accused Danny.

"Hardly! I noticed the bag last time I had some, er, heavy ordinance in the car that needed to be removed," replied Steve a little sheepishly.

"Heavy ordinance? What kind of heavy…. You know what, no I don't wanna know. I take it that you placed said ordinance in the trunk at the start of the day and removed it at the end of the same day?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll say no more."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, Steven, seriously. Now you can either take the free pass that I am offering you or I can spend the next hour telling you, quite eloquently I might add, how wrong it is that you put _anything_ in my trunk without my knowledge and express permission, let alone _heavy ordinance!_"

"I'll take the free pass."

"That's what I thought."

"So, you'll stay here tonight?"

"I'm too damn tired to argue with you or take my keys and drive myself home, so yes Super SEAL, I will stay here."

They both got out of the car, Danny going via the trunk to collect his bag. Once in the house Steve went straight to the kitchen, pulled a couple of beers from the fridge then turned to his friend, "What food do you fancy?"

"Honestly, I'm not very hungry."

"That's it, what's wrong? You're always hungry!"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just too tired to eat."

"Well you need to have something. Will you at least have some soup?"

"Jeeze, if it will make you happy, yes, I'll have some soup!"

Steve rolled his eyes but turned back to get what he needed to make them both some soup. He cut up some fresh bread for them to have with it and within thirty minutes they had eaten and were cleaning up. Once everything had been washed and put away Steve once again turned his eagle eye on to his friend.

"Go grab a shower and go to bed man, you look ready to drop."

"Gee thanks!"

"It's what I'm gonna do," Steve turned out the light in the kitchen and made his way through to lock up and set his alarm.

"Yeah, OK. Sounds like a plan," he preceded Steve up the stairs after grabbing his bag, "Night and thanks."

"You're welcome. Clean towels are in the bathroom; if you need anything else let me know."

Danny took his bag into the guest room and dropped it on the bed, removing what he needed for a shower. Once in the bathroom he stripped off his dirty clothes, still grubby from his slide on the ground the previous day, there just hadn't been time to change. Turning on the shower he waited for it to reach the right temperature and stepped under the spray enjoying the heat as it worked its magic on his aching body. Washing the dirt and the sweat away he hadn't given his bites any further thought, that was until he ran his hand over his right bicep and it actually stung. Looking down he cringed. He'd completely forgotten that he'd knocked the scabs off his bites and hadn't taken any time to clean them. Looking at his arm now it was clear a few of them had become infected. Carefully he cleaned them and finished his shower then made sure the area was dry.

Exiting the bathroom in his boxers and a clean t-shirt he debated on asking Steve if he had any antiseptic, who was he kidding, this was Super SEAL, _of course_ he'd have antiseptic! Then he considered that the man was probably already fast asleep as the door to his room was slightly open and his light was off, no, he wouldn't disturb him but he would make sure he asked him for some in the morning.

-5-0-

Danny woke up with a pounding headache and his body wracked by shivers. It took him a moment to figure out where he was and he relaxed slightly when the darkened shadows of the middle of the night morphed into the familiar guest room at Steve's.

The next sensation that registered was the fact that his bedding was soaked. Wondering what the time was Danny looked at his phone on the table next to the bed, 02:00 AM. Deciding that laying in wet bedding wasn't the best idea he sat up, closing his eyes until a wave of dizziness passed. Once he was sure he wasn't going to either vomit or faint like some damsel in distress he got to his feet, pulled back the bedding in the hope that it would dry a little then went to the bathroom.

Once he'd used the toilet and washed his hands he doused his face with cold water and patted it dry. He'd tried to sip some of the tap water but it wasn't having any affect and he figured it would be better to go and grab a bottle from the fridge. He left the bathroom on wobbly legs and made his way down the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing. He didn't turn any lights on until he made it into the kitchen not wanting to disturb Steve, it had made walking around a little bit dicey but he was familiar enough with the house to get away with it. Once he had retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge he sat at the kitchen table taking grateful sips in between resting the cold bottle against his sweating forehead.

Danny's attempts to not disturb the other occupant of the house had clearly been in vain as he heard movement from upstairs.

Steve stood in the doorway of the kitchen looking at his best friend, worry etched across his expressive face, "Hey, you OK?"

"Yeah, sorry didn't mean to wake you, just needed a drink."

"That's OK, could use one myself," Steve opened the fridge door and took out a bottle, eyed the nearly empty bottle in Danny's hand and put another bottle in front of him.

"Thanks," as Danny reached for it his hand trembled slightly causing Steve to raise an eyebrow, "Just tired still," his partner brushed his concern away.

"Better get back to bed then," suggested Steve gently.

"Hmm, yeah, probably," as he got up from the table Danny's legs once again wobbled and he would likely have face planted if Steve hadn't been ready for just such an occurrence.

As he steadied Danny the SEAL cursed, "You're burning up! Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"  
>"It's nothing, just feeling a bit rough."<p>

"Come on, let's get you back up to bed," Steve placed an arm around Danny's waist helping to support him back to the guest room. Turning on the light as he entered he saw the dishevelled bed and sat Danny in the chair instead, "Stay there, I'll be right back."

When he returned he had clean bedding, a pair of sweatpants and a clean t-shirt. The bed was changed with minimum fuss while Danny changed into the clean clothes. Disappearing to put the bedding on to wash when he returned Steve came armed with a thermometer and holding Danny still stuck it in his ear with little warning. It was a testament to how unwell the other man was feeling that he didn't even flinch or protest.

"102, well it could be worse. Back into bed," Steve placed his hands on the tops of Danny's arms to help steady him which elicited a hiss, "What was that?"

"Nothing," mumbled Danny.

"Uh huh," Steve lifted the sleeve on the right arm of the t-shirt, "Danny!"

To the sick man he might as well have shouted at him given the tone he was using. It's what a parent would call the disapproving voice and Steve had the face to match.

"Er, think a bite might have got infected," he commented sheepishly.

"No shit Sherlock! Don't move!" Steve disappeared again, this time reappearing with his first aid kit. In no time at all he had thoroughly cleaned the area, covered it in antiseptic cream and placed a dressing over it so that the cream didn't rub off, "I should take you to the ER!"

"No, I'll be fine," Danny whined tired beyond belief.

"I'll be the judge of that! You probably need antibiotics, but I guess that should hold you until the morning. I'll take you to your doctor first thing."

"OK. Thanks," no way was Danny going to argue with Steve on this, he felt like crap.

"If your temperature gets worse though I will be taking you to the ER, no arguments, are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good," Steve guided Danny back into the bed and pulled the covers over him. Once sure that the other man was comfortable he left the room and returned a few minutes later with a pillow and a blanket then made himself comfortable in the chair.

Danny opened his eyes and stared blearily at his best friend, "Go back to bed."

"No way. I need to keep an eye on you. Go to sleep."

Feeling horribly guilty that the SEAL was having to sleep in a chair because he had forgotten to clean the bites Danny closed his eyes, "Thanks Steve."

-5-0-

First thing that morning after Steve had dragged a still very poorly Danny out of the house to his doctor's office he called Chin and Kono.

"Kelly."

"Hey Chin."  
>"Steve, everything OK?" Chin threw Kono a look that had her by his side in a second as he switched his phone to speaker. The pair hadn't been in the office long and had wondered where Steve and Danny were.<p>

"Not really. Danny's sick."

"What?"

"Yeah. Long story short, some of his bites got infected and he didn't realise. He stayed at mine last night and got up at 02:00 AM, when I went to check on him I discovered he had a temperature and saw the signs of the infection."

"He didn't tell you?"

"Nope," both Chin and Kono could hear the frustration in Steve's voice.

"How is he now?" Kono asked.

"We just got back from the doctor's office. He's got some antibiotics for the infection and needs to take paracetamol to bring down his temperature. Basically I'm calling to say neither of us will be in today and probably not tomorrow either."

"No worries brah, we've got it covered," Chin assured him.

"We'll drop by later, do you need us to pick up anything?"

"He's not really eating so if you could pick up some soup or something light that would be great."

"No problem. I'll ask my Mom to make up some of her special soup!" Kono grinned, everyone loved her Mom's cooking and she was sure if anything could make Danny eat it would be her soup.

"Thanks guys, see you later."

Steve got off the phone and went up to check on the patient. He was glad to find that he had fallen into a fairly deep sleep even though he was still sweating from the fever. Hopefully that would break soon, and then he'd change the bed again, send Danny for a shower and give him another pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Steve would only rest once he knew that his best friend was resting peacefully. The Navy SEAL was just grateful that the infection was minor. He really would need to speak to Danny about taking better care of himself, the man was always so intent on everyone else that sometimes he forgot that he needs taking care of too.

-5-0-

**A/N: Can I just say that I spent a lot of time scratching a non-existent itch while I wrote this! Most disconcerting! Thanks for reading! x**


	10. J is for Jacking

**DISCLAIMER: Santa promised to bring me ownership of Hawaii 5-0 for Xmas. I believe in miracles, but not this particular one!**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and alerts as always. The bad guys in this are from the last chapter. I found this one really difficult to write, even though it's the longest one yet. The end of the chapter has some OOC fluff but I felt it fit at the time I wrote it, not so sure now. I will leave it up to you to decide.**

**J is for Jacking (?)**

"Danny will take Kahala Mall and Liang's; Kono, Waikiki Shopping Plaza and Bijoux de Plaza and I'll take Royal Hawaiian Center and Cartier. Chin I want you here at the Palace co-ordinating. The intel we have says those armed robbers that hit Tiffany's at Ala Moana will hit one of these three stores tomorrow morning," Steve and the 5-0 team were gathered around the computer table in their offices discussing the plan for an operation the next morning that would hopefully nail a group of armed robbers.

"I've spoken to HPD and each of us will have six plain clothes officers on the ground at the malls with us plus several available units in the vicinity as we don't know exactly which jewellers they're going to hit," Danny supplied. "I've done a full brief with each of the teams so they know where they need to be and when they need to be there."

"If there's no action by 10:00 AM then it's unlikely that they're gonna hit. Going by what happened at Tiffany's they entered the mall early with employees and hit the store just before opening time when they followed a member of the staff," Kono reminded the others.

"These people are well organised but they weren't violent. They managed to enter and leave Tiffany's with the minimum amount of threats to the staff, if you see something, report it but don't try to apprehend them until after they've left the store," instructed Steve. The last thing any of them wanted was a hostage situation.

"I've got all the communication gear tested and ready to go. Meet here at 07:00 AM tomorrow morning and I'll get you and HPD hooked up," Chin informed his boss.

"Sounds good. I think we're ready, or at least as ready as we can be. Call it a day now and meet here tomorrow at 07:00 AM."

The team wished each other a good night and went their separate ways. Steve was going to enjoy a run and a swim; Kono was going surfing; Chin was going to meet with Malia for dinner and Danny was going to spend the evening with Grace. Tomorrow's operation was no more dangerous than any other but they were in the unfortunate situation where the team was going to be split up as they needed someone to lead the teams at each shopping center, it wasn't something that any of them liked but it wasn't the first time and likely wouldn't be the last.

-5-0-

Each member of 5-0 was exactly where they needed to be; now all they could do was wait and see where the armed robbers showed. They had all been at their individual locations by 08:00 AM, which was the time the malls allowed cleaning crews in from. Nobody knew how the robbers had made it into Ala Moana but it seemed likely that it was at the same time as the janitorial staff. They could then have hidden until the appropriate moment.

Steve, Danny and Kono were all in the security offices of their assigned shopping center. They had distributed the HPD officers throughout the mall at discreet locations and the heads of security were with them ready to identify anyone who looked out of place.

It was just gone 09:45 AM and they were all beginning to think that this was a bust; that their intel was wrong, when the Head of Security at Kahala Mall spotted something, or rather people, out of place.

"Detective Williams, those four people," he pointed to one of the monitors, "I haven't managed to catch sight of their faces on any of the cameras."

"Like they know where they are and how to avoid them?"

"Exactly."

Danny wasted no time and keyed the mic at his wrist, "We've got a possibility," he informed both his own team and those at the other two malls, "Stand by."

The Head of Security watched as a young girl walked towards the four he had identified, "She works at Liang."

They watched as she neared the group and were both disappointed and pleased when the group surrounded her, "Contact has been made with a member of Liang's staff. All units move to block the exits. We don't know if there are any other accomplices so keep your eyes open. Nobody is to approach the store or any of the robbers until they are clear of the area. I can't see if they have any weapons so don't take any chances," Danny's voice was calm and firm, "I'm heading out to the exit nearest the store with Kealoha."

He left the security office with an HPD officer following close on his heels, "Be careful Danny, we can't free up resources from either of the other malls until we can confirm that there are gonna be no attempts made there," Steve warned his partner. Nobody knew just how many armed robbers were in this gang and it was possible, if a little improbable, that they may hit two malls at the same time.

"Copy that."

Unobtrusively both Danny and Officer Kai Kealoha slipped round the outside of the mall until they reached the exit nearest the store where they remained out of sight.

Just before 10:00 AM the radio in Danny's ear crackled to life, "Suspects are leaving the store… Crap!..."

"Report!" barked Danny

"They must have spotted something they've taken off running. They've split up. One is coming your way Danny," the voice over the radio was slightly distorted as the owner was running.

"Dammit!" Danny was not happy, somehow their carefully planned op had been jeopardised, he'd find out how later but now all that mattered was apprehending these four and any accomplices. He turned to Kai, "Keep out of sight and remember we don't know what weapons these people have."

"Got it," Kai checked his own weapon before ensuring he couldn't be seen by anyone who might have been coming out the exit just in front of them.

They didn't have to wait long before the door swung open with such force that it slammed into the wall and the glass cracked. A man dressed in all black ran straight out into the parking lot where Danny and Kai were waiting.

"5-0, stop where you are…"

The sentence was never completed as shots were fired in their direction, '_Guess that answers the question about whether they're armed_,' thought Danny. He indicated to Kai that he should go round to the right while he actually took the more direct, and therefore more dangerous, route.

Danny had a good look at the man he was now trying to capture. At about five foot eight the man wasn't much taller than him but lacked the build of the New Jersey Detective. He was close enough to make out that the man had a mop of dark hair and cold grey eyes. Of course being this close meant that he was in infinite danger of getting himself shot if he didn't keep to the cover of the parked cars as was demonstrated as a window of the SUV he was behind shattered with the impact of a bullet.

"God damn it! You aren't getting out of here so give it up already!" The only answer he received was another gunshot. The man had to run out of bullets soon, right? Danny heard the distinct click of an empty gun and grinned, stepping out of cover just enough to take his own shot. Sadly for him the man had managed to find cover of his own and clearly had more ammo and had reloaded his gun as another window on the vehicle shattered.

Hearing a car approaching Danny sighed in relief thinking it was going to be back up in the form of HPD, when he peered out he was horrified to see that it wasn't a police cruiser but a car with a civilian behind the wheel and there was nothing he could do without getting himself shot. Luckily Kai had managed to get round to the other side and drew the gunman's fire away from the civilian long enough that as it drove by it wasn't caught in any cross fire.

Danny was beyond livid, "SHUT DOWN THE PARKING LOTS!"

The slightly calmer but clearly stressed voice of Steve came over the radio, "Danny?"

"Civilian just drove into the parking lot Steve!" he managed to tone it down from a yell as he had just drawn the attention of the gun man again, "Damn it, here comes another one!"

"Shut down all entrances and exits to the Kahala Mall. NOW!" Steve's voice came across the radio, Danny recognised the tone that said he was in Super SEAL mode and someone was going to pay for the mistake that had led to civilians being able to access an area where armed felons were on the loose. Sure that he could now leave the securing of the mall to Steve, even if he wasn't here, Danny turned his attention back to the man trying to shoot him and Kai.

It seemed having seen one vehicle drive passed him the robber had come up with a plan. He had obviously had two guns because he was now firing simultaneously at both Danny and Kai. It wasn't accurate, but it was effective. When the shooting stopped and Danny was able to get a clear view it was to see the man waving a gun in the face of a young woman as he pulled her from her vehicle and threw her to the ground, before he could do anything the robber was tearing off down the car park.

"My baby!" The woman cried, "My baby is in the truck!"

"Suspect is now driving a dark blue Colorado, do NOT fire on the vehicle there is a baby in it…" Danny spoke into his mic before yelling to Kai, "Check on the woman…" then he was off running across the parking lot.

The truck couldn't go particularly fast round the lot and there was no way out except one exit, Danny could cut across and hopefully reach the truck before it could make it to that exit. With a child now involved HPD may not be able to prevent the truck leaving the mall parking lot.

Danny ran halfway across the lot before he was ahead of the truck. Assessing a point where the man would have to slow down Danny waited. When the truck slowed to take a corner it was enough for the Detective to launch himself onto the side and grab hold of the steering wheel through the open window, his feet on the running board. If he'd had time to think about it he would probably have cringed at the lecture this move would elicit from Steve, but he didn't have time. He had to stop this truck!

The driver had been caught totally by surprise and dropped his gun on the floor, which was lucky for Danny as he had needed to holster his own weapon to enable him to use both hands. The two men struggled and as the truck rounded the corner and straightened up the robber put his foot on the accelerator. Danny was hanging on for all he was worth. He managed to glance in the back of the truck and the baby was actually fast asleep, none the wiser about the drama unfolding.

Turning his attention back to the parking lot in front of him he noticed that the driver was now heading towards the left side of the row of cars and he knew exactly what he was going to do. The man was going to try to dislodge Danny by running into the parked cars. Really there was no try about it, the speed they were doing, even in the confines of the parking lot, if Danny was caught by one of the parked cars he was toast. Grabbing the steering wheel he fought for control and managed to swerve the car away to the right.

The robber had clearly had enough and bent Danny's fingers back on his right hand enough to cause the Detective to lose his grip on the steering wheel, then with a quick elbow to his face and a blow to his left arm he lost his grip completely and tumbled to the asphalt.

-5-0-

Steve had been pacing the security office at the Royal Hawaiian Center since he had heard that the suspects had spotted something and split up. As much as he wanted to rush over to Kahala and back up his partner he couldn't. He had a job to do here, just as Kono had over at Waikiki shopping plaza.

"_SHUT DOWN THE PARKING LOTS!" _Danny's voice came through in his ear loud and clear.

"Danny?" Steve needed to know what the problem was. He knew Danny would have his hands full trying to ensure that the runner that had headed his way was apprehended.

"Civilian just drove into the parking lot Steve!" This was said in a much quieter voice. "Damn it, here comes another one!"

Steve couldn't believe that HPD had allowed civilians into the parking lots around the mall after the call went out that the suspects were on the run. He couldn't be there for his partner by physically backing him up, but he could damn well support him verbally. "Shut down all entrances and exits to the Kahala Mall. NOW!"

When the SEAL heard that Danny's suspect was now in a vehicle and there was a baby in it he decided enough was enough and he was going to head over there. It was clear that there was going to be no attempt at the other two malls now. He turned to HPD Sergeant Hale and told him he was now in charge before running to his truck and jumping behind the wheel.

Eight minutes later Steve was pulling up to the mall and had been listening to the constant sit reps over the radio from the units on scene. Danny and Officer Kai Kealoha were on the east side of the mall trying to stop their suspect but that area had now been locked down. Two other suspects had somehow managed to slip through the net that had been set up and disappeared; the fourth was on the west side and had managed to take a hostage before backing himself into a corner. Steve was torn. On the one hand there was Danny and Kealoha trying to stop a fleeing man with a baby in the vehicle he'd jacked; on the other there was a hostage situation with potentially inexperienced officers in charge.

Realising there was no choice. He trusted Danny, knew him and what he could handle. He didn't know the officers that were dealing with the hostage situation and he was now the senior member of law enforcement on scene so he silently wished Danny luck before turning in the direction of the hostage situation.

-5-0-

The air whooshed out of Danny as he hit the asphalt and skidded along it before coming to a stop. Nothing registered but that he'd lost the chance to stop the truck and he was back on his feet and running again before the truck made the next corner.

Reaching the next aisle he looked up to see Kai and three other officers with their weapons now trained on a stopped truck. He approached slowly to find the robber with his hands in the air as Kai grabbed him and pulled his hands, none too gently, behind his back to cuff him.

Danny came up to the gathered officers who just eyed him warily and backed off. Looking at Kai, "How…?" he asked.

"Apparently the baby began to cry," He indicated the still screaming child in the backseat, "and startled him. His automatic response was to stop the truck!" Kai handed the cuffed man to the awaiting HPD officers.

Shaking his head Danny approached the truck and opened the back door, "Hey there," he spoke softly to the baby before reaching in and unbuckling the straps of the car seat, "Your Mom is worried about you, how about we get you back to her and get you both checked out, huh?" Lifting the baby gently into his arms he rocked her gently, the little pink shorts and t-shirt giving away the sex of the child.

"EMTs should be here already, they just need the all clear to enter the scene," Kai informed him.

"Go ahead and give them the all clear then," Danny smiled at Kai.

"Yes Sir!" The Officer spoke into his radio, "EMTs are now cleared to enter the east parking lot."

The two men walked away from the truck to where Kai had left the woman in the capable hands of a female officer as he ran to provide Danny with back up. As they approached the woman saw them and ran to meet them.

"Oh my god, Lila, is she alright?"

"She's just fine Ma'am. Slept through most of the drama," Danny eased the baby into her Mom's waiting arms. "She's beautiful."

The woman looked at him with tears pouring down her cheeks, "Thank you. Thank you both so much."

"Just doing our jobs. The EMT's will want to take a look at you both," he indicated the two men waiting by an ambulance that had pulled up.

"Oh, OK, yes, thank you again," she allowed the female officer to usher her towards the waiting ambulance.

Turning his attention back to Kai, "Where are we at with the other three suspects?" he looked a bit sheepish, "Kind of lost track of everyone."

"Not surprised considering you were hanging off a truck!" retorted Kai, "Two vanished into thin air, one is over on the west side, has a hostage."

"Shit!" Danny started to walk away to head over there.

"Er, Danny…" Kai stopped him, hesitant to interfere.

"What's up Kai?" Danny thought the kid had earned his respect. He had backed him up without question.

"Well a couple of things. Commander McGarrett's over there handling the situation…"

Interrupting Danny said, "Well I better get over there then before Super SEAL blows the mall up to distract the perp!"

"Danny wait!"

Not quite so patient this time, "What?"

Kai gently took his elbow and led him over to the side away from anyone who may over hear their conversation, "I think maybe you should get the EMTs to check you out first."

"What? Why? I'm fine," he gave it some thought; "Do you mean my tumble earlier? Which, by the way, I'd really rather you didn't mention to Steve!"

"I don't think this could be referred to as fine, Danny," he gently moved his hand off the elbow he was holding and took his wrist and straightened the arm out, turning it slightly for Danny to get a better look.

"Well…" the Detective took a good look at his left arm and raised his eyebrows, "Damn! Still, need to go over to back Steve up, I'll worry about this afterwards."

Before Kai could protest any further another call came over the radio, _"Hostage situation resolved, suspect in custody."_

"EMTs?"

"Nope."

"Danny you can't leave this…"

"Not going to, you're going to drive me to the ER," now that the hostage situation was resolved he could go and see about getting his arm looked at without worrying about Steve.

"I am?"

"Yes Kai, you are," Danny started to walk off towards where he'd left the Camaro.

Kai just shook his head before falling into step with the Detective, "Shouldn't you getll Commander McGarrett?" he was exasperated when Danny just shook his head, "Do you really think you can hide this from him?"

"Hide what? I'm not hiding anything."

"So you're going to tell him about getting knocked from a moving truck and the road rash?"

"I didn't say that either! I am merely not going to mention it unless he asks."

"What if someone else mentions it?"

"Did anyone else see?"

"Well no, I don't think so."

"Then if you don't say anything…"  
>"I won't lie."<p>

"Not asking you to, just don't come out and tell anyone. If asked you tell the truth."

Kai gave a long suffering sigh that would have sounded to any of the other 5-0 team members as if Kai had been dealing with them for years rather than just weeks and he nodded his agreement.

"Good," he handed over the keys to the Camaro, "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to drive," he answered the questioning look.

"Do you want to just go to Queens?"

"Might as well, they're used to dealing with us there!" Not that Danny was particularly proud of that fact, but at least he knew some of the staff.

Fifteen minutes later they were at the hospital and the receptionist had booked Danny in and told him to take a seat.

"Shouldn't you tell someone where you are?" Kai was still worried.

"Once the doctor has taken a look I will. No point having them all worrying when it's just a graze."

Kai wanted to protest, the weeping 'graze' looked more like someone had rubbed Danny's skin with a cheese grater but he'd tried numerous times to persuade the Detective to let someone know and he didn't want to keep pressing. At least he had someone with him, if he kept on Danny might send him back to HPD.

"Danny?"

Looking up the man in question groaned quietly, "Hello Doctor Jensen."

"Come on through," the Doctor gestured.

"I'll wait here."

"Oh no, Kai, you're coming with me so I can keep an eye on you!"

Rolling his eyes but not arguing the HPD officer followed the other two men back to one of the trauma cubicles.

"You know, I'm not even on duty in the ER today," Doctor Jensen informed Danny conversationally.

"Er, so why are you treating me then?"

"Nobody else wants anything to do with 5-0 when I'm in the hospital, no matter where I am! I can't say that I'm particularly flattered!"

"Well that makes two of us Doc!"

"OK, so what's the problem today?"

"I've grazed my arm…"  
>"Grazed?" The doctor raised an eyebrow. The idea of this particular patient presenting himself willingly at the ER for a graze was more than a little unbelievable.<p>

"It's more than a graze Danny!"

"Oh, excuse me. Doctor Jensen, this is Officer Kai Kealoha. He was working on an operation with me today and he pointed out the graze and thought it should be checked."

"Nice to meet you Officer Kealoha, please don't take any lessons out of 5-0's book on dealing with injuries!"

"Er, nice to meet you to Doctor Jensen. I'll try not to!"

"Show me this 'graze' then…" Danny manoeuvred his body so that the doctor could easily see his left arm, "Danny!" he admonished, "I have to agree with Officer

Kealoha, that is not just a graze!"

"In my defence I can't really see it properly…"

"Uh huh," Doctor Jensen stuck his head out of the curtained area and called for a nurse, "Eve, can you please get me sterile bags of saline, gauze and dressings. I need to wash out some road rash. Oh and five of morphine as well," he drew his head back in.

"No need for morphine," Danny protested.

"Cleaning that up is going to hurt so you'll take the pain relief!" ordered Doctor Jensen. The nurse returned with the requested supplies and Danny was instructed to undo his pants and the morphine was administered to much grumbling, "Eve, can you get Danny out of his shirt please."

"Yes Doctor," she quickly pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket and cut up the left sleeve and along the shoulder removing the now destroyed shirt.

"The vest will have to come off too."

Danny undid the velcro and the nurse lifted it over his head from the front and started to pull it off his back.

"Ow! Shit!"

"Danny?" Doctor Jensen swung round from where he was setting up the supplies to clean the road rash on his arm. His patient had gone a distinct shade of white and had his eyes closed.

"Er," Kai was standing behind Danny and had seen exactly why removing the vest had caused the Detective to swear, "You might want to look at this Doctor Jensen."

Walking around the doctor saw what had happened, "Going to need some more supplies Eve. Also I need an IV to be set up and five more of morphine."

"What's going on? I don't want an IV or more pain relief, I've just had some!"

"Danny, when you got the road rash on your arm you also got some down the left side of your back and it's deep. It's going to need to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent infection, same with your arm. The only reason you have any skin left on your back is because your Kevlar vest provided some degree of protection." He held up the remnants of what had once been Danny's vest, it was well and truly shredded.

Once the IV was in the back of Danny's hand further morphine was administered and allowed some time to work. The remaining article of clothing, a vest, was cut off.

"OK Danny, first we're going to pour saline over your wounds to wash away any surface dirt, then we'll have to remove any dead skin and then we'll use some sterile gauze to wipe away any deeper dirt. We need to ensure we thoroughly clean this up or you could end up with an infection. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," mumbled Danny.

"Very well, let's get started." The Doctor nodded to Eve who opened a bag of cooled saline. "We're about to start washing the wounds out." Eve slowly and steadily poured the contents of several bags of saline over the Detective's back and arm. Once she was done Doctor Jensen got a better look at the damage done, "Danny, this needs debridement…"  
>"It needs what?"<p>

"Debridement, I need to remove damaged tissue from around the wounds. It's then going to need to be scrubbed to get rid of any bits of dirt and asphalt that have made their way deeper into the wounds. It's got to be done in a sterile environment so we're going to need to take you to the OR to do it. You'll be sedated."

"OR? Sedated?"

"Yes Danny. I'm going to go and get an OR booked, I'll be back shortly."

Eve gently dried Danny off while Kai looked on trying to figure out a way to broach the subject of telling the rest of 5-0 what was going on.

"Kai, pass me my cell please?" asked Danny, saving the young officer the trouble. When he checked it he discovered that it wasn't working. Clearly his exploits with the truck had caused the cell damage as well. Kai handed Danny his, "Thanks."

Dialling a number from memory he waited for the person on the other end to pick up. "Kelly."

"Chin its Danny."

"Hey, Steve's been trying to reach you, we all have. Where are you?"

"I had a little bit of a thing and got a bit of a graze…"

"Is that Danny?" he heard Steve's steely tone in the background and cringed. He wondered if it was too late to get Kai to talk to the team, or even better Doctor Jensen. Out of luck and out of time Chin put the phone on speaker. "Danny, where the hell are you?"

"Er, yeah, there was this thing and I needed to get something checked…"

Kai rolled his eyes and received a glare for his trouble. The officer just did a rolling motion with his hand indicating that he should get it over and done with.

"Thing? Checked? What are you talking about? You should be here interrogating the man you arrested!"

"Well technically that was Kai…"  
>"And where is he?"<p>

"Er, with me."

"You should both be here!"

"We will be, in fact I'll send Kai back now and he can give you a hand, I'll be back as soon as I can…"  
>"Alright Danny…" Doctor Jensen entered the cubicle not paying attention to what was going on.<br>"Was that Doctor Jensen's voice I heard?" Steve asked.

"No, no, no, that was not Doctor Jensen's voice," he shot the man in question a look and placed a finger to his lips.

"Chin, trace the call…" Steve instructed.

"Alright, alright! I'm at Queens. There was a little bit of an incident in the parking lot and I needed to come to the ER!" Danny groaned inwardly knowing that Steve wouldn't leave it alone now.

"What incident? How badly are you hurt? No, you know what? I'm coming over there…"  
>"There's really no need…" dial tone was all that Danny heard, "Well shit! Doc what are the chances of getting me to the OR and knocking me out in the next five minutes?"<p>

Doctor Jensen grinned figuring that Danny had been on the phone with his partner and he was trying to avoid said partner, "None I'm afraid. That's what I was coming to tell you. No OR available for about an hour," he turned to the nurse, "Eve, can you please cover those wounds and help Danny get more comfortable until we're ready to move him to the OR."

"Of course Doctor Jensen," Eve smiled and quickly did as asked; changing the cover on the gurney to a dry one she insisted her patient lay down. Rolling his eyes he settled on his right side giving a baleful glare at Kai.

"No telling Steve exactly what happened! In fact, don't say anything at all."

"I told you I won't lie."

"I'll just have to make sure he doesn't ask you any questions then won't I? Why don't you go and get a drink?" He watched as Kai nodded, "Oh and Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Smiling Kai left Danny in peace and he closed his eyes dreading the visit he knew was imminent.

-5-0-

Striding into the ER with Chin and Kono hot on his heels Steve spotted Doctor Jensen, "Where's Danny?"

"Hello to you too Steve!"

"Sorry. Hi Doctor Jensen. How's Danny?"

"He needs some debridement on a wound so I'm waiting for an OR to become available," the doctor was purposefully vague knowing Danny hadn't told his team what had happened.

"Can we see him?" asked Kono.

"This way," he led the three to a curtained cubicle and left them to it.

All three stopped and looked at their friend dozing on the gurney in front of them, taking in the paleness of his skin and the dressing wrapped around his left arm and back. Steve sat down in a chair next to the bed and waited. He didn't have long to wait as his partner had heard them enter and was just gathering his energy for answering the questions he knew were coming.

"Hey," he spoke softly as he opened his eyes.

"So, what happened?" Steve waved a hand at the dressings.

"Just some scrapes."

"What happened?" repeated Steve. He knew damn well since before he left the Palace he'd overheard some HPD officers talking about Detective Williams' impression of a stuntman.

"A bit of an argument with a truck, that's all."

"Danny," the SEAL was trying to remain calm, he really was, but his partner was being purposely obtuse and it was annoying as hell, "Stop hedging and just tell me. What. Happened?"

"I chased the suspect after he stole the truck and kind of got in the way. Got knocked over…"

"Uh huh. Want to try that again? Maybe adding in the fact that you jumped onto a moving vehicle with an armed suspect in it?"

Danny visibly cringed, "It wasn't really like that…."

"No? You know what; we're not having this conversation right now. Do you know why?"

"Er, no."

"Because you're waiting to have surgery of sorts and I happen to know that road rash, don't look so surprised, of course I know you've got road rash given you fell from a moving vehicle, I happen to know it hurts like hell."

"Oh," Danny really wasn't used to this reasonable side of Steve given he knew that the man must be angry that he hadn't told him about what he'd done and that he'd been hurt doing it.

"We will be having a conversation about this though when you come to stay with me, again, while you recover. Do I make myself clear Detective Williams?"

"Crystal," mumbled Danny.

"Now, how are you feeling?"

"Eh, you know… Doc gave me morphine so dull throb."

"Danny," Doctor Jensen entered the cubicle, "Good news, OR is free so let's get you up there," an orderly made his way in and Danny was taken to the OR, "You can sit in the waiting room if you like or I can call you when he's ready to be released?"

"Call when he's ready to be released please. Thanks Doc."

Kai was waiting outside relieved that somehow Commander McGarrett knew what had happened. He held out the keys to the Camaro which made Steve smile, "Thanks Kai. Why don't you drive it back to the Palace, Kono go with him. Then we can get on with the interrogation of our two suspects."

-5-0-

Steve unlocked the front door and ushered Chin into the house since he was helping a still slightly wobbly Danny.

Kono hurried into the kitchen to get what they needed for the take away they had picked up on the way back from the hospital leaving Steve and Chin to get their friend as comfortable as possible on the couch. The team mates then sat and ate in relative quiet.

Danny wasn't particularly hungry but he forced himself to eat. He knew that he was due a lecture and really just wanted it over and done with.

Chin and Kono didn't really want to be there since they also knew Steve was upset with Danny over his antics at the mall earlier but felt that they needed to be there to help if things got a little heated.

Steve was busy thinking of how to say what he needed and wanted to without completely ruining their friendship.

After fifteen minutes of silence Danny couldn't take it any longer, "Can you just get it over with already?"

"What?" replied Steve looking up from his intense examination of the food he was hardly eating.

"The yelling."

"I'm not going to yell Danny."

"No? I would!" He knew it was the truth. If Steve had pulled a stunt like he had earlier the rant that he would have dished out would have been of epic proportions.

"Sure yelling might make me feel better. Might even make you feel better but I'm not sure you'd actually hear what I was saying. I know that you yell at me when you're upset because I've scared you or gone over the top. That's your thing, not mine. It's how you show that you care."

"That's… Wow… Er," Danny wasn't sure if he was particularly comfortable with this version of Steve, not exactly warm and fuzzy, but trying to verbalise how he was feeling.

"I don't think I've done anything for a while that tells or shows you that I worry about you and care about what happens to you. So this is what's gonna happen. I'm going to tell you how hearing about what you did made me feel, as uncomfortable as I am talking about it I need you to hear it and understand where I'm coming from. Chin and Kono can chime in whenever they feel the need, you will listen, silently. Clear?"

"OK."

"I can't believe that you were so stupid! You could have gone under the wheels of the truck and been killed. You could have been shot. The truck could have crashed. You're not a stuntman! The worst part though had to be hearing what you had done, not from you, my best friend, my second in command, but from overhearing a conversation between HPD officers. You were injured and you didn't tell me until you had no choice. I am angry at you for that," the tone of Steve's voice changed and the underlying anger and tension could now be heard. The SEAL took a deep breath, determined not to lose his temper. Danny didn't need that right now and honestly, if he could have he would have left this conversation for the following day, but Danny had been vibrating with anxiety since they got back to the hospital.

"I think what you did was brave, stupid, but brave," Kono decided to put in her thoughts, "I get why you did it and I'm pretty sure that any one of us would have done the same thing," she glared at the other two men daring them to deny it, they didn't. "I'm with Steve; not telling us you were hurt was the absolute worst thing."

"You did absolutely the right thing getting to the ER, nobody can deny that, but I was in the office co-ordinating things and even if you didn't want to disturb Steve or Kono, you could have called me to tell me you were on the way to the ER to be checked over. I know you called eventually but as Steve said it was when you had no choice. I wonder now if you hadn't needed to go to the OR would you have even told us," Chin's normal voice of reason was as hard to stomach as Steve's because Danny knew that they all had a point.

"I'm proud of this team and what we achieve. You do great work Danny, and maybe I don't tell you that enough but I never thought you would purposely avoid telling me you were hurt. Under play an injury? Definitely. Not mention it at all? No." Steve looked at Danny and saw that he'd heard every word they'd said and now he had the right to say how he felt, "I think I've said all I wanted to." Chin and Kono both nodded.

"I'm not going to apologise for what I did when I jumped on that truck, I'd do it again if I thought I could protect someone, like that baby girl. Had she not been in the truck I wouldn't have done it. I know that I've yelled at you, Steve, for similar stunts but I'd like to think that if it had been to save a life I would be able to understand after my heart rate had come down out of the stratosphere. We've got very different ways of achieving the same goals. Sometimes my way is better and sometimes yours is, we're finding our balance with that now," Danny gave a small smile, "I will apologise for not telling you I was hurt. Honestly when Kai pointed it out I didn't think it was anything much and I'd be in and out the ER. Then when I got back to the office I could tell you about and you'd be able to see that there was nothing to fuss over. It wasn't until they removed my vest that I knew it was worse, once Doctor Jensen had cleaned it and said it needed me to go to the OR then I knew it was time to let you know. Maybe I should have done it sooner but I wouldn't have hidden it from you if I hadn't needed the OR. I promise."

The four sat in silence looking at each other. They were all a bit uncomfortable now. It was so out of character for them to actually sit and discuss things like this but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

"Alright, enough said," Steve stated, gaining agreement from everyone else. Looking more carefully at Danny he noticed the discomfort the other man was now in and it wasn't due to their conversation, "Come on Danny, the guest room is all ready for you," he pulled him to his feet and Kono handed him a fresh bottle of water and his pain medication.

"Thanks. Night," It was a much quieter Danny than usual that slowly made his way up the stairs to the guest room but as he took his medication and then got into bed he knew that no matter what problems the team faced, they'd work it out, whether through quiet conversation or yelling!


	11. K is for Knife

**DISCLAIMER: I own nuffink. **

**A/N: As always a huge thanks to those that are reading / reviewing / alerting. A bit of a warning, Danny actually swears (as in the F word) twice in this chapter. I contemplated using it and decided that the circumstances he finds himself in warrant it. If you think that maybe I should up the rating then please let me know. This is not meant to offend anyone.**

**K is for Knife**

"Alright, let's call it a night;" Steve McGarrett instructed his team, "We can finish the paperwork in the morning."

"We can finish the paperwork? Is that the royal we, Steven?" Danny Williams asked his boss, partner and friend, "Because _we_," at this he circled his hand in the air to indicate all four members of the 5-0 team, "All know that you actually mean _I_, as in _me_!" he pointed to his own chest.

Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua both had their hands over their mouths trying to hide the smirk that this typical rant from Danny had elicited.

Steve rolled his eyes at his partner's dramatics, "No Danny, I mean we. _You_ may fill it out but _I_ still have to sign it!"

"Oh my…" Danny spluttered, "He has to sign it, he says," he looks at the other two team members who quickly wipe the smirks off their faces, "Did you hear that? Poor Steven has to sign the paperwork."

"Well there's a lot to sign!"

"Of _course_ there's a lot to sign! Normally because _you_," he pointed his finger at Steve this time, "Have decided that rather than talking things through with someone it's better to _blow_ things up! _That_ creates a _lot_ of paperwork! Paperwork that I have to complete using ever more creative and inventive explanations as to _why_ you saw fit to use an explosive to open a door rather than, I don't know, getting bolt cutters!"

"So, anyone want to go get dinner and a beer?" Steve grinned at the look on his partner's face at having his rant so easily dismissed.

"Dinner and a beer? That's what you're going with rather than responding to my very valid comments about the paperwork?"

"Uh huh."

"You buying?"

"Yes Danny, I'm buying."

"Got your wallet, with cards and or cash in this time?"

"Yes," Steve took out his wallet and opened it for his partner to see.

"Then yes, Steven, dinner and a beer sounds like a great idea. I'll have to meet you there as I need to swing by the motel I was staying in and collect something."

"Motel Cockroach? What could you possibly have to collect from there?" Steve screwed up his nose at the mention of the motel Danny had been staying in until recently.

"Firstly, it wasn't called cockroach and it wasn't that bad! Secondly, the manager called and said something had been dropped off there for me," he shrugged.

"OK, we'll see you there, but don't be long!"

-5-0-

Night had just fallen as Danny pulled up in the parking lot outside the hotel, as he got out of the Camaro he noticed that all the outside lights seemed to be out. He'd mention it to the manager when he collected whatever it was that had been dropped off.

Danny's cell started to ring as he started to cross the parking lot, looking at the display he rolled his eyes, "Look Super SEAL, I've only just got here. Some of us actually drive as if we're, you know, law abiding citizens!"

"I was just going to ask you what you wanted to eat, we'll order it and it'll be ready by the time you get here!" Steve responded indignantly.

"In that case…" a noise from some nearby bushes stopped him mid-sentence and he looked around.

"Danny?"

"Sorry, thought I heard something…"

"Paranoid! What do you want to eat?"

"Order…" another noise from the same direction, as he turned round a figure clad in black came at him wielding a knife. Danny had no time to draw his weapon; his only choice was to drop the phone and try to defend himself by other methods. The cell clattered to the ground.

-5-0-

"Danny?" Steve rolled his eyes as his partner once again stopped before finishing his sentence. That's when he heard the sound of the cell hitting the ground, but it didn't disconnect so he could hear Danny's muffled curses. The SEAL was up and out of his chair with his two other team mates hot on his heels.

"Steve?" asked Kono. The tension in the older man's posture was worrying her.

For an answer he put his cell on speaker as they hurried out to their vehicles. The sounds of a struggle could be heard. In silent agreement the three all climbed into Steve's truck as he took off in the direction of the motel with lights and siren going.

-5-0-

The knife slashed down towards Danny and he automatically threw his arm up in a defensive posture to ward off the blow, hissing as the knife sliced into his lower right arm. The man he was fighting was almost a foot taller than the detective and well-built but Danny was a fighter and he wasn't going to just let this attacker get the upper hand.

His attacker clearly didn't have any experience in hand to hand combat as he just kept slashing the air in between them, causing Danny to jump back but not actually making contact. That was fine until they reached a kerb; since Danny was unable to look behind him without taking his eyes of his assailant he hadn't noticed the approaching trip hazard. He went down and the man was on him in a heartbeat, continuing to slash the knife. Once again Danny automatically held up his hands to protect himself, resulting in slash wounds across both his palms. The sting of the cuts was what he needed to shock him into action and using his feet he knocked the other man backwards and got to his feet at the same time as the other man regained his balance.

The pair circled one another warily both knowing that at this point they were fighting for their lives. If Danny got hold of that knife and the man came at him, he knew how to use it and wouldn't hesitate to do so to protect his own life. There was no doubt in the detective's mind that this man was here to kill him.

Danny let the man get closer, a risky move given the still continuous slashing movement he was making, putting up his right arm once more to deflect the down swing he stepped into his opponent's space, ignoring the pain that again sliced through his arm, he used the momentum to push the other man's arm away, hitting it with enough force he dropped the knife. It was then that the man's hood came away removing the shadows that had been covering his face. Danny recognised the red hair and piercing cold blue eyes; it was Shane Warner, the arms dealer that had nearly blown him and Steve up with a grenade.

The two men scrambled to get the knife and therefore get control of the situation, unfortunately Danny just wasn't quick enough despite being highly motivated and the other man reached it first.

Using some skills he'd learnt from Steve and Kono while working out in the gym with them Danny swept his leg round connecting solidly with the other man's knee before he could fully stand up again. He dropped to the ground but didn't drop his weapon, recovering quickly. As he started to get to his feet he plunged the knife deep into Danny's right thigh, causing a cry of agony. Shane was about to pull the knife out to finish the job when the sound of sirens approaching penetrated his rage filled haze and made him change his mind.

"I'll be seeing you around, Detective Williams," with those words he was gone and Danny was left lying on the asphalt, hands gripping his thigh.

-5-0-

Steve drove to the motel like Danny's life depended on it and what worried him most was that it could. The sounds coming from the still connected cells weren't indicating what exactly was going on, just that something was.

Screaming round the final corner, practically on two wheels, the truck shot into the parking lot and screeched to a halt, the headlights on the truck picking out a man on the ground at the end.

"Danny!" Steve was out of the truck having barely turned the ignition off.

Kono pulled out her cell phone and called for an ambulance and HPD. Chin followed Steve sweeping the area ensuring that nobody was in the area that could potentially cause further harm to his team, knowing that Steve's focus right at that moment was on the blonde detective.

Dropping down on his knees next to Danny, Steve assessed his partner with a sweeping gaze. Blood covered both his hands and his right arm, but the most concerning injury he could see was the one where a knife was stuck in his best friend's leg.

"Danny, move your hands, let me look," a sense of urgency gripped the SEAL.

"Take it out," Danny growled as he moved his hands away.

"You know I can't," Steve looked up as Kono dropped the first aid kit from his truck by him, "Thanks," he grabbed a large wad of gauze and pressed it on either side of the knife.

"Fuck!"

"Sorry but I need to get this bleeding under control," Steve had seen the blood pumping out of the wound with every beat of his partner's heart.

"It was…" Danny hissed as Steve pressed down even harder.

"Don't talk. You can tell me what happened later!" ordered Steve.

"Shane Warner," the injured man ignored the directive.

"For the love of God, will you just listen to me for once!"

"Dressed all in black," he paused to take a much needed breath, "Ran off towards the park."

"Fine, you've told us, now shut the hell up!"

"I'll put out a BOLO," Kono assured the man hoping that it would keep Danny quiet and by association calm Steve down a little.

Chin and Kono kept sweeping the parking lot not wanting to be caught off guard by Warner circling back around. There wasn't anything they could do for Danny that Steve wasn't already doing.

The gauze that Steve was using had already soaked through, giving up on that idea he pulled his t-shirt over his head and wrapped it around the knife and pushed it down.

"For FUCK sake Steven!"

"Shut up Danny!"

"Any… excuse to… take your… shirt off!"

"I swear to God if you don't STOP talking I'm going to use some of the tape I've got in that kit and put it over your mouth!" Steve glared at his injured partner to emphasise his point, "Please you need to save your energy," the words were spoken much more softly.

Danny saw the fleeting look of fear on his friend's face before he could hide it. He knew a knife to the thigh wasn't good, but from the look Steve had briefly allowed to show it was worse than he'd imagined. Shit. Danny closed his eyes and pictured his little girl's face, her smile, her laugh.

"Danny, stay with me man. Open your eyes for me, come on," coaxed Steve, "That's it," he breathed a sigh of relief as Danny's eyes once again opened. The sound of sirens could now be heard as HPD and an ambulance arrived in the lot.

Steve looked up to see the familiar face of an EMT, "Andy…"

"What's happened?"

"Knife in the thigh, it's still in there. I've tried to stop the bleeding. He's got multiple cuts to his hands and his right arm but I was more worried about his thigh."

"Alright, Maggie," Andy turned to the female EMT that was with him, "Get the gurney please. You OK to stay there and keep pressure on the wound for a minute Steve?"

"Yeah."

Andy quickly opened the large kit he carried with him and pulled out a pressure dressing. Rather than take away the t-shirt and gauze Steve had been using he simply laid it over what was already there and then secured it around Danny's leg.

"Danny, I'm going to start an IV and give you some pain meds. Maggie here is going to give you some oxygen," he indicated his partner as she returned with the gurney.

"No Jake?"

"He's on vacation," Andy smiled at his patient.

"Wish I was!"

"Didn't I tell you not to talk?" Steve asked.

Maggie slipped the oxygen mask over Danny's face muffling any reply he made. Andy secured the IV and gave him some morphine before hanging a litre of saline and handing the bag to Steve to hold.

"Danny, we're going to move you onto the gurney now. We need to make sure that the knife doesn't move so I need you to let us do the work, OK?"

"OK."

Andy, Maggie, Steve and Chin carefully lifted the injured detective onto the gurney and he was wheeled to the back of the ambulance. Steve climbed into the back with Andy, the door was closed and the ambulance left with lights and siren going.

Danny was in a world of pain. His hands stung in a way he could never have imagined and both his arm and leg were throbbing. There was a distinct feeling of dizziness as well. Keeping his eyes closed he reached for his partner, knowing that he was there, "Steve."

"I'm here Danny," a warm hand held his cold clammy one, trying not to cause pain while being reassuring.

"Tell Gracie…"

"No, you'll tell her yourself!"

"Steve, please…"  
>"No, you don't get to do this! You don't get to give up!"<p>

"Not giving up."

"Sure sounds like it to me! You want me to tell Gracie that Danno loves her, which sounds like you're saying goodbye! I won't let you!"

"Steve…"

"No Danny. You can tell Grace yourself."

"Not saying goodbye."

"Then what are you doing? No, don't answer that, you're supposed to be saving your energy and _not_ talking!"

"Reassuring myself."

Steve ran a hand through his hair not even noticing the blood on his own hands, "I will tell Grace while you sleep and recover but you _will_ be telling her yourself when you wake up. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Good now shut up!"

"Steve…"  
>"<em>Danny!<em>"

"Danno loves you too!"

Steve looked at his partner an expression of shock on his face. Under the oxygen mask he could just make out a small smile. He grabbed Danny's hand in both of his, "I love you too brother, just hold on… No, no, no. Danny, don't do this, stay with me!" Danny's eyes slid shut. Steve looked desperately at Andy.

"He's lost consciousness; he's still with us Steve. He's fighting."

When they arrived at the hospital the gurney was instantly surrounded by medical personnel. Doctor Phelps was once again on duty and recognised his patient. "Detective Williams can you hear me?" he asked as he jogged along beside the gurney towards the trauma room.

Andy quickly supplied the doctor with the information he needed, "Superficial lacerations to both hands; two deeper wounds to the lower right arm; knife lodged in the right thigh. He's tachycardic; Pulse 142; Resps 41; BP 67/45. He's had a litre of saline, 100% O2 and five of morphine." The medical team quickly but carefully moved Danny to the ER gurney and the EMTs cleared their equipment out of the way.

Doctor Phelps started to give orders, "Page the on call surgeon. Get me U+Es; FBC; Glucose and Cross match for four units of blood. Set up for a Central line and get me arterial blood gases. Insert a Foley." A matter of minutes later Danny had a new line in his neck and multiple tubes of blood had been taken for testing and his urine output was being measured. "What's his blood pressure?"

"Blood pressure 60/40."

"Make sure that O2 is set to 100%," instructed Doctor Phelps, "Get five of dopamine and get a bag of that blood hung."

Another person burst into the room, this time a young woman, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and her green eyes serious, "Dom, what you got?"

"Hi Ani. Danny Williams, 35 years old, penetrating knife wound to the right upper thigh, knife still in situ, possibly involving the femoral artery. BP 60/40, O2 stats dropping."

"Alright, let's move him to the OR. Need to get that bleeding under control or we're going to lose him!"

-5-0-

Doctor Phelps had handed his patient over to the care of the surgeon, now it was up to him to tell the patient's friends what was happening. Removing his bloodied gloves and taking a deep breath he exited the trauma area and emerged into the busy waiting room.

"Is anyone here with Detective Williams?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes, Commander McGarrett," Steve appeared in front of him and introduced himself, two others standing either side.

"I'm Doctor Phelps, I am the ER physician that treated him," he pulled the three to one side; "Danny has just been taken up to the OR to have the knife removed."

"Is he going to be OK?" Kono was gripping Steve's arm. He didn't even notice.

"He's in critical condition. Danny has lost a lot of blood; we believe that there may be some damage to the femoral artery which will need to be repaired. I'm sorry I can't give you any more information right now, but if you head up to the OR waiting area his surgeon, Doctor Kala, will update you when she can."

"Thank you Doctor Phelps," Chin responded before ushering his cousin and boss out of the ER waiting area to go to the OR one instead.

The three friends sat silently in the quieter waiting area, hoping that Danny was strong enough to make it through. Steve had once again debated on calling Rachel, but he wanted to have something to tell her other than Danny is in the OR and we don't know if he's going to make it.

A few hours later a pretty blonde woman approached the waiting area, "Commander McGarrett?" she asked.

Steve immediately stood up, "That's me," he introduced her to Chin and Kono.

"Please, sit down, I'm Doctor Ani Kala," she gestured to the chairs and then joined them; "Danny made it through surgery. I won't lie to you, his heart stopped during the procedure but we managed to get him back quickly. The knife actually cut the femoral artery but had actually also blocked the cut as it was pushed passed the artery into muscle. If the knife had been removed on scene he would have bled out before the ambulance arrived. We've carried out a repair on the artery and torn muscles."

"Is he going to be OK?" Kono asked again, this time both Steve and Chin reached for her as her voice trembled.

"He's currently on a ventilator as he is extremely weak from blood loss and is still receiving transfusions. His condition is critical and, as cliché as it sounds, the next twenty four hours are critical. If he can survive that then he has a very good chance of making a full recovery, though it won't necessarily be an easy one as the knife did a lot of damage and it will be a while before he'll be mobile again. Danny is in for a lot of physical therapy to regain the strength in his right leg."

"He'll make it," Steve said without even a trace of doubt in his voice.

"Well he's made it this far when others wouldn't have so he has a good chance. You can go and visit him in the ICU shortly. A nurse will come and get you."

"Thank you Doctor Kala."

They didn't have to wait long and they were shown to Danny's room in the ICU. The man in the bed only looked a little like the Danny they knew and loved. There was no life, no energy, in the body. He was pale and the tube down his throat to help him breathe brought home how ill he really was. His leg was sticking out from under the covers, raised and a thick bandage was round his thigh. When they approached the bed they also noticed the bandages covering both his hands as well as one going from his right wrist to his elbow.

"I forgot all about the cuts on his arm, didn't even ask about them," Steve stated.

"We were kind of worried about the knife in his leg brah," Chin placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"The wounds on his hands aren't deep, the two cuts on his lower arm required forty stitches between them, but they didn't do any nerve damage as far as the doctor can tell," a voice said from behind them.

Turning round the three came face to face with a nurse that they were all too familiar with, "Akela," Steve acknowledged the man.

"Hey, I'm going to be Danny's nurse tonight. Why don't you all go home and get some rest? I'll call you if there's any change." He wasn't surprised when all three of them refused his offer, "Well, Steve, at least go and get cleaned up. There's a locker room just down the hall."

Looking at himself for the first time that evening Steve realised he was covered in Danny's blood, "Yeah, OK, that's not a bad idea. Thanks."

"You go and hit the shower and I'll get your back from your truck," Chin offered. When Steve nodded his agreement the older detective left.

"How's he doing?" Kono asked Akela.

"Didn't Doctor Kala tell you?"

"Yes, she did, but seeing him…"

"He's holding his own Kono. Sit with him, talk to him and let him know you're here. I'm pretty sure he'll appreciate it," Akela squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as he walked passed her back out of the room after he hung a new bag of blood, "I'll be in and out but if you need anything then press the call button."

-5-0-

It had been nearly thirty hours since Danny had been settled into the ICU and he showed absolutely no signs of regaining consciousness. The team had questioned Doctor Kala but she'd told them that given the extent of the blood loss he would wake up in his own time. She tried to assure them that he was on the road to recovery after they were able to remove the ventilator as Danny began to spontaneously breathe, but still he hadn't woken.

Steve was keeping vigil by the bed when there was a noise outside the door, dragging his eyes away from the unmoving form of his partner he looked up to find Grace Williams standing in the door with her mother behind her. The SEAL gave the first real smile he'd managed since Danny had been injured and got up to meet the little girl at the door.

"Hey Gracie," he looked over her shoulder, "Rachel."

"Uncle Steve," Grace's brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him, "How's Danno?"

Steve knelt down so he was at her level, "The doctor tells me he's doing better, he's breathing on his own now but I think he's still very tired as he hasn't woken up yet."

"He _is_ going to wake up though, right Uncle Steve?"

Rachel placed her hand on Grace's shoulder, "Grace, we talked about this…"  
>"It's alright Rachel. I certainly hope so Grace," he wasn't going to lie to this child that meant so much to him, "Why don't you come and talk to him and tell him he needs to get his lazy behind outta bed," he winked at her and she gave a little giggle before throwing her arms round Steve's neck.<p>

"Thank you," Rachel mouthed as he picked her up and walked over to the bed with her.

He sat down in the chair that he had pulled up close to the bed to enable him to reach through the rails on the bed with ease and settled Grace on his lap. She looked back at the SEAL suddenly uncertain about what she should do.

"You can touch him, look," he put his hand through the rail and rested it on the back of Danny's bandaged left hand.

Grace shuffled forward slightly until her shorter arms could reach and replaced Steve's hand on her Dad's, "Hey Danno. Uncle Steve says that you're very tired and need to sleep, but I miss you."

Steve gave her a reassuring squeeze to let her know it was alright to speak to the unconscious man, the man that she idolised so much.

"He also says it's time to get your lazy butt out of bed!" she grinned at Steve who just shrugged. If Danny was hearing any of this and remembered any it he was so in for a rant, but he'd take that over this interminable silence and stillness.

"Why don't you tell your Dad what you've been doing at school Grace," suggested Rachel trying to make it easier on her daughter.

"OK," agreed Grace, "I had a spelling test yesterday and I got them all right! Oh and Ms Jenni told us about a trip the class is going on next month to the Polynesian Cultural Center next month! It sounds fun. Mom is going to come too. I also wanted to ask you about taking me to a ranch that one of the other kids told me about. We could go horse riding, or if you don't like that we could go on an ATV. They've got a jungle thing too."

Steve smiled at Rachel, they both knew that even when Danny woke up it could be weeks before he was up to doing anything that Grace was referring too, but it would give both of them something to look forward to, so the SEAL determined that he'd arrange it for them once Danny was ready.

"Come on Grace, it's time for you to go to school," Rachel hated to take her daughter away from her father but she needed to keep her to a routine.

"Can't I stay Mommy, please?"

"No darling, you can't. You need to go to school, but I'll bring you back when school finishes, alright?"

"OK, bye Danno," with Steve's help she planted a kiss on her Dad's forehead, gave Steve a hug and then left with her Mom.

"Come on Danny, you're gonna break your daughter's heart if you don't wake up soon," sighed Steve, placing his hand back on his friend's and closing his own eyes.

-5-0-

Grace came back that afternoon but there was still no movement from her Dad and when she left Steve gave her a hug and promised that he'd stay and keep Danny company. She was worried he'd wake up and be alone. Both Chin and Kono tried to persuade him to go home but he wouldn't budge.

The pair made sure that he had a break at least and went to get something to eat. When he returned they stayed for a little while before heading home to get some sleep, hoping they'd be able to convince Steve to go home tomorrow.

"Evening Steve."

"Hey Akela, how are you?"

"Good thanks. You look tired. Why don't you go home and get some rest?"

"Chin and Kono already tried, I'm not leaving," the SEAL's stubborn streak was as wide as the ocean on this particular matter.

"Alright, but I'm not picking you up if you collapse from exhaustion! I just need to change Danny's dressings," he indicated the items that he'd brought into the room with him. Moving the table he put his supplies on it and then started to remove the dressing on his patient's right arm. Once the old dressing was removed he gave both the wounds a thorough clean. Suddenly Steve was sitting up from his relaxed position, which gained Akela's attention.

"Steve?"

"He moved his hand," standing up Steve placed his right hand on Danny's left and put his left hand on his forehead, "Danny?" The two men waited expectantly and got no response, "Perhaps I just imagined it."

"It's not unusual for a patient who is unconscious to have involuntary muscle movement Steve," Akela returned to cleaning the wounds.

"He did it again! Danny? Move your hand again if you can hear me," he watched hopefully and nothing happened, "Try cleaning the wound again."

Akela watched Danny's hand in Steve's as he once again applied the sterile wipe to his arm and this time he saw the movement as well, "That's a good sign. He's showing a response to pain."

"Not so great if he's actually in pain and can't tell us," pointed out Steve.

"True. I'll speak to the doctor about perhaps adjusting his pain medication," Akela finished cleaning all the wounds on Danny's arm and hands as Steve gently spoke to his partner trying to help him through the pain he was clearly responding to, "I'm going to speak to Doctor Kala before I change the dressing on his leg as that's likely to be more painful and I don't want to put him through any unnecessary pain if it can be avoided."

"Hear that Danny, Akela is going to try and get you some more of the good stuff. If you can hear me, you're going to be fine. I'm here and not going anywhere. The doctor says you'll wake up when you're ready. Let me tell you we're all more than ready to have you awake now!"

Akela returned with a syringe and administered more morphine before turning his attention to Danny's leg. Once he'd removed the old dressing and started to clean the wound he kept checking with Steve to see if Danny was responding, but the extra dose of morphine must have done the trick.

It was a few hours later when Danny finally opened his eyes and Steve had finally drifted off to sleep. It took a few minutes for Danny to catalogue his condition and where he was. The beeping of a heart monitor gave away his location, the dull throb from his arm, hands and thigh brought back why he was in this particular place with a clarity that he could have done without.

Turning his head slightly he caught sight of Steve's tall form slumped at an awkward angle in the chair next to his bed. He became aware of a light pressure on his left hand and managed to glance down to find Steve's hand there. It was oddly reassuring to have his hand held, but he'd never admit it. He was wondering if he should wake the other man up or not when Akela walked in to do his next check on his patient.

"Well hello there Danny!" he spoke softly so as not wake the sleeping man next to the bed just yet, "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," croaked Danny.

"I bet. Here, take some sips of water," Akela lifted a cup and poured some cold water into it before dropping in a straw and bringing it to Danny's lips so he could have a drink, "Not too much. There you go. Better?"

"Yeah, thanks. How long?"

"Have you been here?" at the nod he received he responded, "Today makes two days you've been in the ICU. Your team and daughter will be very pleased to see you back with us."

"How bad?"

"You lost a lot of blood and needed several units transfused. You have two cuts on your right forearm which have been stitched, some lacerations on your hands and a rather nasty wound on your right thigh. Your femoral artery was damaged, Dr Kala, your surgeon, repaired it but it will be a while before you'll be up and about I'm afraid, the repair needs a chance to heal properly. In fact I will go and page Dr Kala now, she happens to be on duty again tonight. I'll be right back."

Steve had slept through the whole conversation. Clearly the other man was beyond tired and Danny felt vaguely guilty. Still it wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for Steve.

Doctor Kala entered the room about half an hour later and quietly greeted her patient before giving him a quick examination.

"You're doing really well Danny. You'll be moved out of ICU tomorrow and I'll send one of our physical therapists to see you to discuss the best way to get you mobile again."

"Thanks Doc," Danny closed his eyes suddenly feeling wiped out despite the amount of sleep he'd been getting.

"Get some rest Danny," Doctor Kala smiled and left the room happy that all was going well.

-5-0-

Steve woke a few hours later and stretched. Akela smiled, "You missed Danny waking up!"

"What? You're kidding?"

"Nope. Dr Kala came and checked on him. He'll be moved out of the ICU tomorrow, well later today."

"That's great news. Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked paler than my patient!"

"He's right you know, you looked pretty tired," Danny told him, having woken up at the quiet murmur of voices.

"You should have woken me!"

"No, we shouldn't. Steve, go home! I'm fine."

"Grace will be coming by before school and I promised I would stay with you."

"What time is it?"

"01:35 AM," supplied Akela.

"Steve, go home! Get some sleep in your own bed. If it means that much to you come back before Grace comes in. I'll even tell her I sent you home! I'm hoping Akela is about to give me some more pain medication, in which case I'll be out for the count in about five minutes anyway!"

"Are you in pain?"

"I had a knife sticking out of my leg! Of course I'm in pain Steven, but that's what the medication is for!" Steve grinned, "Wait, what was that? Are you _smiling_ because I'm in pain? Because I gotta tell you Steve, that's not cool!"

"I'm smiling because you're talking again. Two days without hearing one rant, I kinda missed it, but I'll deny it if you ever repeat that!"

"I have a witness," Danny pointed to Akela.

"Oh no, leave me out of this!" he made a note on Danny's chart before leaving and quickly returning with a syringe, the contents of which he pushed into Danny's IV, "There you go."

"Thanks Akela. Home Steve. Go. Please?"

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Sleep."

"OK, I'll see you in the morning."

"And Steve?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks for being here."

Steve smiled and patted Danny's shoulder before asking Akela to call if he needed anything then leaving to go and get some much deserved rest in his own bed.

-5-0-

Grace stopped suddenly in the doorway to her Dad's room. He was awake! Her Danno was awake.

"Gracie?" Danny asked worriedly when he saw her stopped there.

"DANNO!" she ran across the room and only stopped when Steve grabbed her and gently placed her on the bed so that Danny could reach round and give her a cuddle but she wouldn't jump all over him and hurt him.

"Hey baby girl."

"You scared me Daddy."

"I'm so sorry Gracie. You know I'd never do anything to scare you on purpose don't you?"

"I know," she burrowed in to her Dad's side and the pair just lay there enjoying the closeness while Steve and Rachel watched.

"Grace," Steve spoke after a few minutes.

"Yes Uncle Steve?"

"I was wondering if I could ask you to help me with something."

"Sure!"

"Will you help me set up the study at my house for Danno to use while he recovers?"

"Can I Mom?"

"When will this need to happen?" Rachel asked.

"The physical therapist came by this morning. I'll be stuck in bed here for another week, then they'll release me but I won't be able to use crutches," he indicated his hands and arm, "So Steve offered to set up a bed in his study for me to use as I won't be able to get up and down stairs for a while either."

"I've got a bathroom on the ground floor too, but I could use a hand to sort out the study area so I can fit a bed in. Chin and Kono have said they'll help…"

"Grace how would you like to spend Saturday with Uncle Steve?" offered Rachel. This was as much for her daughter as her ex-husband. Helping Steve get ready for her father's discharge would hopefully keep her mind off why he had been in the hospital in the first place.

"Yes please!"

"OK, that's settled then," Steve smiled.

"Daniel, how long do they think that you'll be recovering for?"

"It will be a couple of weeks before my arm has healed enough to put pressure on it to use crutches, then probably a couple of weeks on crutches building the strength back up. I'll likely have to use a cane for a little while after that. I won't be cleared to go back in the field for at least six weeks."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad that you're going to be alright."

"Thanks Rachel."

"Grace, say goodbye to your Dad and Steve, it's time for school."

Jumping off the bed after giving Danny another hug and a kiss, Grace hugged Steve then skipped out of the room with her Mom.

"You sure about having me staying with you for that long? Especially since it means moving stuff around."

"Of course. You'll only be stuck in the study until you can use crutches then you can move up to your room."

"My room?"

"Well you stay in the guest room so often I might as well call it your room!"

Danny couldn't dispute that since meeting Steve he'd spent more than his fair share of time in his house, "Crap at this rate you'll be expecting rent!"

"Now that's not a bad idea…."

Danny groaned and Steve laughed. It would be a long six weeks for Danny, but between Steve, Chin, Kono and Grace he was sure that he'd be fine. They were still looking for Shane Warner and the man had better hope that HPD caught him before Danny's Ohana did.


	12. L is for Letter

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own it. Never will but I will happily play with the gorgeous characters!**

**A/N: Thanks again for reviews / reading / alerting. I should make it clear I will not be writing Lori in any of these one shots. I have nothing against the actress but from what I've seen I'm not sure about the new dynamics and therefore don't want to do the character an injustice by writing her when I'm not sure about her. I do however like Malia and it will be good to see one of the team with a partner! It is just my personal opinion and won't stop me watching the show and I hope it doesn't stop your enjoyment of the stories.**

**L is for Letter**

Danny grinned at his daughter as she entered the kitchen of his new apartment. Grace's hair was in a tangled mess and her eyes were half closed from only just having woken up.

"Morning Monkey," he greeted.

"Hmmm, morning Danno," she slid onto a stool at the kitchen counter as Danny put a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice in front of her.

"Eat, drink, wash and dress!" he ordered.

She started eating and in between mouthfuls asked, "What are we doing today?"

"I don't know yet. I thought we could decide together once you're dressed."

"'K," she turned her concentration back to devouring her breakfast. She, like her father, wasn't really a morning person.

Breakfast finished, Grace headed for the bathroom to clean her teeth and have a wash before getting dressed. Danny cleaned up the breakfast things and tidied up. He'd had his shower while Grace had still slept, despite not being a morning person, if he had Grace then he made sure he was up early, he didn't want to waste a moment of their time together.

The knock at the door surprised him. He wasn't expecting anybody, wondering if it was Super SEAL come to crash his Saturday he peered out of the window next to the door to be greeted by a man in a courier uniform. Danny hadn't ordered anything so took a good look at the surrounding area before opening the door.

"Morning. Delivery for Daniel Williams," the courier smiled cheerfully.

"I'm not expecting anything. Where's it from?"

The courier checked before responding, "New Jersey. No name."

That was odd; if it had been from a member of his family they'd have included their name on the return address. The courier was clearly getting impatient so Danny reached for the electronic pad and signed for the package.

Once he was back in the kitchen he placed the A4 sized envelope on the counter and eyed it warily. He didn't recognise the address but he kept in touch with some of his old precinct by email and he didn't know all of their addresses off the top of his head. It wouldn't be the first time one of them had sent him something. Turning over the envelope he opened it and was relieved when nothing happened. He rolled his eyes at his own paranoia. Holding the envelope with his left hand he prised it open with his right and tried to peer in to the darkness but all he could see was a folded piece of paper. Shrugging and wondering if this was another one of his friend's idea of a practical joke he put his right hand in and pulled the paper out. That was when a small explosion erupted.

"Daddy?" Grace ran out into the hallway heading for the kitchen.

"Grace, stay where you are," Danny ordered.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Monkey. Just somebody's idea of a joke." The father was amazed at how steady his voice was, because his hands were shaking as the envelope lay smoking on his kitchen counter. A letter bomb or a practical joke gone wrong? The detective just knew that this was no joke. Ignoring his stinging face, hands and arms he decided that he needed to get Grace out of the apartment.

"Monkey, how do you feel about going over to Uncle Steve's today?" he called out.

"OK," the response was slightly wobbly and seeing her Dad wasn't likely to reassure her since he could already see his hands reddening.

"Grab your bags; I think we'll stay there this weekend. It's been a while since you spent some quality time with Uncle Steve."

Grace quickly did as she was told while Danny slipped into the bathroom allowing him a few minutes to try to calm the shaking. Catching sight of his reflection in the mirror didn't help any. His face was red as if he'd been out in the sun too long. How was he going to explain this to his eight year old daughter?

"I'm ready Danno!"

Well he didn't have time to think about that now; he needed to get Grace out of the apartment, somewhere safe. He couldn't think of anywhere safer on Oahu than somewhere that had Steve Super SEAL McGarrett.

There was a knock at the door encouraging him to move. Walking passed Grace he checked the window again and saw his next door neighbour. Taking a deep breath he opened the door.

"Morning Mrs Ellis."

"Danny, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Sylvie," chided the elderly woman. "I heard a loud bang, is everything alright? Oh, your face!"

"Everything's fine Sylvie. One of my friends decided to play a practical joke and they went a bit far."

"Well you should have a long talk with that so called friend young man! Can I do anything?"

"Actually I was wondering if I could possibly borrow your car. The Camaro is playing up," someone had sent him an exploding letter, he didn't want to refer to it as a letter bomb again, that just seemed too melodramatic, and he didn't want to risk someone having set a device on the Camaro. Paranoid? Yes. Safer not to use it just in case? Definitely.

"Of course you can, just a minute and I'll get you the keys."

She was back moments later with the keys to her dark blue Hyundai Accent. "Thanks Sylvie, I'll drop it back in a couple of hours," Danny promised.

"That's fine Danny; my daughter is coming to take me out so if I'm not home just drop the keys through my door."

Watching to make sure she got back to her apartment without any issues Danny then turned back to his daughter, "Ready?"

"Danno, what happened to your face and hands?"

"I'll tell you later Monkey, for now let's just go to Uncle Steve's," after grabbing his gun, wallet and badge, he ushered his daughter out the door, locking up behind him. As they crossed the parking lot he kept his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

A short time later they pulled into Steve's driveway. Danny was relieved to see his truck there. It hadn't even crossed his mind what he'd do if the other man was out. Grace was out of the car before Danny could even get his door open, reaching into the back to grab her bags.

"Leave those, I'll get them. You go and let Steve know we're here," he wanted to get his daughter inside. Shrugging Grace ran to the front door, knocked and opened it.

"Uncle Steve?"

Danny could hear his partner's reply, "Grace? What are you doing here? Where's Danny?"

"He's getting my bags out of the car," she wrapped her arms round his waist in greeting.

"Oh. Go and help yourself to a drink Grace and put the TV on if you want, I'll be back in a minute," Danny had never turned up on a Saturday with Grace unannounced, he always called first, something wasn't right. When he stepped out his front door he knew for sure that something was wrong. Firstly Danny wasn't driving the Camaro, secondly his whole body posture as he walked towards Steve carrying Grace's things screamed of tension.

"Danny? Is everything… Jesus, what happened to you?" he blurted out as he drew near enough to see Danny's face.

"Can we talk about this inside, please?" he shot an anxious glance around the area.

Steve was even more worried now; the anxiety was rolling off Danny in waves, "Sure, come on," once his partner was inside Steve locked the front door, earning a raised eyebrow from Danny, "You turn up here looking like you've been sitting in the sun all day without sun block, not driving the Camaro and furtively glancing around. Damn right I'm gonna lock my front door." Walking through the sitting room he also went to the doors that led to the decking closing and locking those, "Grace, you stay here, your Dad and I will be in the study if you need anything."

"OK Uncle Steve," she smiled up at the SEAL before turning her attention back to the cartoon she was watching.

Danny put Grace's bags down at the foot of the stairs before following Steve into his study and walking over to the window, staring out at the ocean.

"What's going on Danny?"

Taking a deep breath and starting to pace Danny quickly told Steve what had happened with the letter this morning.

"Damn! I'm calling Chin and Kono," Steve stated. Danny didn't argue, in fact given the situation he was being a lot quieter than the SEAL would have expected. He watched Danny pace the study as he made the phone calls, both their friends agreed to get to Steve's straight away after hearing what had happened. Steve quickly went to check on Grace before returning to the study, a bottle of water in hand which he passed to Danny, "Here." The other man didn't stop in his pacing as Steve placed it on the desk, "Come on, stop pacing. Take a drink, breathe!"

Danny picked up the bottle from the desk and absentmindedly went to open it, the movement causing him to hiss with pain. Steve was by his side immediately, taking the bottle from his hands and gently inspecting the reddened appendages. It was then that Steve realised that his partner was also shaking, "Shit. Come on, sit down," pressing Danny down into the office chair, he took the lid off the water and handed it back, "Drink some of that, I'm going to get my first aid kit."

Steve checked on Grace once more as he came back down the stairs with his first aid kit and a blanket then went back into the study, dropping the kit on the desk. Danny was leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed in an attempt to get his anxiety under control.

"Hey, it's going to be alright Danny," Steve rested his hand on the other man's knee as he pulled up another chair, "Sit forward a minute," once his partner had done as asked he slipped the blanket round the still shaking man's shoulders.

"A letter rigged to _explode_ arrived at my home while Grace was there Steven! What if she'd opened it…" he paused to take a deep breath, to try and control his emotions.

"She didn't open it Danny. She is sitting in the other room watching cartoons. Grace is safe! I will _not _let anything happen to her. Or you."

"It's just if she'd been standing in the kitchen next to me… Oh god I think I'm gonna puke!" Steve quickly produced a small bin and Danny promptly lost his breakfast into it. At his friend's prompting he took another sip of water and rinsed his mouth out, "Thanks."

"I need to look at your hands and arms," Steve reached out to take them just as a knock sounded at the door, "Don't move, I'll be right back," when he opened his front door he was greeted by Kono, Chin and Malia.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing Malia, we were out at the beach together," Chin looked a little uncertain.

"No, of course not," responded Steve, welcoming the woman into his home, "In fact I could use her help."

"Oh, what with?" asked Malia.

"Danny's got some burns, I was just about to try and treat them but you'd be better qualified for that," Steve spoke softly so that Grace couldn't hear.

"Where is he?" she asked with obvious concern.

"In the study," he led the group back through the sitting room. They all took a moment to say hello to Grace and then followed Steve into the study.

"Hi Danny," Malia sat down in the chair that Steve had just vacated and gave him a cursory examination, "I can see that you've got some first degree burns to your face, show me your hands and arms," the man did as instructed, "Any other burns or injuries?"

"No."

"Steve, can I get a bowl of cool, not cold, water please?"

"Yeah of course. Chin, Kono, why don't you come with me and we'll sort out what needs doing," Steve took the bin with him to clean.

"Can you both go over to Danny's apartment? He locked it up and left the letter on the kitchen counter. Take it to forensics to see if they can get anything off it. Danny also said there was a return address with no name, see where that leads. Oh and track down the courier. Pack some stuff for him too; he's going to be staying here for a while. He only thought to bring Grace's things."

"No problem. I better check with Malia that she's alright to stay here," Chin advised his boss.

"Damn sorry, I shouldn't just assume. I can go with Kono."

"I think Danny and Grace would be more comfortable with you here. I'm sure Malia will be happy to stay until I get back, but I'll just go and check with her first."

Steve took the bin into his downstairs bathroom to clean it, while he did that Kono searched for a reasonable sized bowl to fill with water. She was pretty sure that the woman would stay, as far as she was concerned Danny was now her patient.

"Malia said she's not going anywhere! She wants to clean Danny's burns and keep an eye on him. Apparently the burns to his face are first degree, but the ones on his hands and arms are partial thickness second degree," Chin said as he came back into the kitchen.

"Does he need to go to the hospital?" Kono asked.

"Not at the moment. There's the chance that the burns can get worse over time but she'll monitor them and if they do she'll let us know."

"Alright Cuz, let's go. We need Danny's apartment keys."

"I've got them," Chin replied, "He also asked me to return his neighbour's car. He didn't want to risk using the Camaro in case someone had tampered with it so we need to get that checked as well."

"Call whoever you need to," Steve instructed, "This takes priority as far as I'm concerned."

Nodding their agreement the cousins said goodbye to Grace letting her know they'd be back later and then headed out the door. Steve locked it after they'd gone before returning to the study.

Danny was still sitting in the desk chair but was leaning back with a damp washcloth that Steve had provided draped over his face. In other circumstances it might have looked comical. Malia had given Danny a couple of Tylenol extra strength that she'd found in Steve's well equipped kit. Hoping that they'd had a chance to kick in she gently placed his hands in the large bowl of water provided. There was a hiss from Danny but no other reaction and they couldn't see his face anyway. Malia removed the cloth from Danny's face and handed it to Steve asking him to go and soak it again. When he came back he gently laid it across his partner's face again and then left to sit with Grace.

Ten minutes later she removed the washcloth and patted his face and then his hands dry. She had already pulled out some sterile gel burn dressings and lightly wrapped these round Danny's hands and arms after applying some antibiotic ointment.

"You need to make sure you keep moving your fingers, I know it hurts but if you don't then the skin will tighten and it could cause other problems for you," she squeezed his knee sympathetically when she saw him wince as he moved his fingers a little, "When did you have your last tetanus?"

"A couple of years ago."

"That's good then, I don't need to get you a booster," she smiled at him.

"Well thank heavens for small mercies then," he tried to return the smile but wasn't very successful since his face was a little sore.

Steve poked his head round the corner, "How we doing in here?"

"All done, for now. He'll be due for some more Tylenol in about five and a half hours, I'll check the burns again then to make sure they've not evolved into more serious burns."

"Danny, are you up to talking to Grace?"

"Yeah, just give me a couple of minutes."

Malia and Steve left the room to give Danny some much needed privacy to gather himself before he spoke with his daughter. Once they'd reached Steve's and she was safe he'd been so desperate to tell Steve what had happened that his focus hadn't been where he knew it should have. Then with Malia coming in and taking over the care of his burns… There was no way he had wanted Grace to see him getting them treated, at least now the horrible red and blistered skin was covered up.

"Is Danno OK?" Grace asked Steve quietly.

"Why don't you grab a bottle of water from the fridge for him and take it through to the study and ask him?" suggested Steve. He knew Danny had wanted some time to gather himself, but avoiding his daughter wasn't going to help.

"OK," Grace got up, went into the kitchen for the suggested bottle of water and then headed for the study, "Danno?"

Opening his eyes Danny sat up in the chair and looked at his daughter. Her eyes were wide with fear and his heart lurched because he had been the cause of it, "Come here Monkey."

"Uncle Steve thought you might like some water," she indicated the bottle in her hand.

"Thanks Grace, put it on the desk for me please."

"Are you OK?" her eyes had taken in the redness of his face and the bandages covering his hands and arms.

"Hop on my lap."

"I don't want to hurt you," she knew bandages meant injuries.

"You won't hurt me Grace, come on." The little girl climbed carefully on to her Dad's lap and snuggled against his chest, "You remember that bang you heard earlier," he felt her nod, "Someone sent me a letter and it had something in there that made that noise and caused some minor burns. You know Malia's a doctor right?" another nod, "Well she has treated them and, although I'm a little sore, I will be just fine."

"Who sent it?"

"I don't know Monkey. Whoever it was isn't very nice but Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono are trying to find the person. Until they find them we'll stay with Uncle Steve for the weekend. Is that alright?"

"Uh huh," she looked up at her Dad, "Chin and Kono will find the person that hurt you Danno and then Uncle Steve will throw him in the shark cage!"

Danny spluttered slightly at that, "Where, I mean, what, ah… Uncle Steve will do no such thing! He will arrest them and put them behind bars where all bad people should go."

"You won't get hurt again?"

"Grace, look at me," he lifted her chin gently with his bandaged hand, "You know I can't make any promises that I won't ever get hurt, but I want you to know that no matter what happens to me, no matter how bad or frightening, I will always try to come back to you and if for some reason I can't you will have Uncle Steve, Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono to look out for you."

"I don't want anything to happen to you," Grace started to cry softly.

"Oh Monkey, I don't want anything to happen to me either! Danno loves you so much and you're my reason for being here on this island. I will make you the only promise I can. I will always try to come back to you and this crazy Ohana of ours, but if I can't I will always love you."

"I love you too Danno," she curled up into her Dad as she cried and all he could do was rock her back and forth gently trying to soothe her.

Eventually the crying stopped and turned into gentle hiccups and then her breathing evened out as she drifted off to sleep. Danny closed his eyes. He hated the fact that he had to have these kinds of conversations with his daughter, but she was very smart and he needed her to understand that no matter what happened to him he would always love her, she needed to hear that just in case the worst ever happened, he never wanted her to doubt that her Danno loved her.

Steve looked in on the pair about half an hour later and found them both sleeping. Unwilling to disturb them he crept back out of the room and sat talking quietly with Malia.

-5-0-

A sleepy Grace wandered into the sitting room, "Uncle Steve," she mumbled.

"Hey Gracie," he knelt down in front of her, "You alright?"

"Could I have a drink please?"

The SEAL smiled as he watched her rub sleep from her eyes, "Of course you can. Why don't you go and sit with Malia and I'll get one for you. Is your Dad still sleeping?"

"Uh huh," she replied as she flopped down on the couch next to Malia. Steve went to get her a drink and the child looked at the woman next to her, "Auntie Malia?"

The woman was a little surprised by the title of Auntie, but she was also flattered. Chin spoke about the team and Grace all the time and it was nice to feel part of their Ohana, "Yes Grace?"

"Is Danno going to be alright? He said you treated him so you would know."

"Yes, he's going to be fine Grace. It's going to take a few weeks for the burns on his hands to heal and they're going to hurt, but I predict a full recovery," she smiled down at Grace.

"It's just…"

"What is it?"

"He was mumbling in his sleep. It woke me up…"

Steve had come back in the room, handed Grace a glass of milk and exchanged concerned looks with Malia.

"Did you hear what he was saying?" she prompted.

"Not really, but it was… he sounded upset. He stopped when I got off his lap."

Malia lifted Grace on to her lap so she could bring her into an embrace, "It was probably just a dream. I am sure the noise gave him a bit of a shock this morning, how about if Uncle Steve goes to check on him?"

"OK."

Steve leaned over and kissed the top of Grace's head. She was so like her father, always worrying about other people. She'd had quite a fright herself this morning but her only concern was her Danno. When Steve entered the study he was greeted by a half awake Danny.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like I'm living in a nightmare!"

"We'll get the person or people responsible for this Danny and in the meantime you and Grace can stay here. In fact I insist on it. Chin and Kono are picking some things up for you."

"Thanks man, I really appreciate it," Danny went to rub his hands through his hair and then realised he couldn't as he caught sight of the bandages and sighed, "Malia said it would be two to three weeks for these burns to heal, that's if they don't progress on to full thickness burns. How the hell am I supposed to manage when I go back to my apartment on Monday?"

"Who said you're going back to your apartment Monday?"

"Well Grace will be going back to Rachel so there's no need for me to stay here."

"Like hell there isn't. Danny someone targeted you in your own home. A place you haven't actually lived very long. There is no way you're going back there until this person is locked up! Anyway, you said yourself you won't be able to manage!"

"I really liked that apartment you know, a small bedroom for Grace and a separate one for me, no more sleeping on a fold out. Now…" he shrugged, not wanting to express in words that he didn't think he'd feel safe there again, it would be a sign of weakness to say it.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with not feeling safe somewhere. It took me a while to feel comfortable here after the Yakuza broke in and stole the CHAMP box. I fitted a new alarm and security system which helped."

"This isn't someone breaking in though; this is someone having a letter sent to me. How the hell can I do anything about that to make me feel safe there again?"

"You have options Danny. Get your mail sent to the Palace, it'll be screened. Worst case scenario you look for somewhere else to live but I don't want you worrying about that right now. We'll worry about that once the person responsible is behind bars."

"Grace said you'd drop them in a shark cage!"

"You want me to? I can if you want, just say the word!" Steve grinned at his partner as he rolled his eyes.

"No, Steve, I don't want you to drop them in a shark cage. If Grace had been hurt then all bets would be off and it would be _me_ dropping them in the ocean with the sharks, without a cage for protection!"

"And I'd be right there with you brah! Come on, why don't you come into the sitting room. We'll get Grace to pick out a film to watch. Chin and Kono should be back soon and then we'll have some lunch."

"Sounds like a plan," Danny struggled to stand as he couldn't use his hands to push himself up, so Steve slid his hand under his upper arm and helped him. The two men walked through to the sitting room and Steve repeated the action to help Danny into one of his recliners.

When Chin and Kono returned they found Danny still in the recliner with Grace on his lap as they watched Finding Nemo.

"Grace, why don't you go and sit with Malia while Steve, Chin, Kono and I talk," Danny suggested gently.

"OK," she scrambled off his lap and curled up on the couch next to Malia.

Steve helped Danny to his feet and the four 5-0 members went into the kitchen to discuss what Chin and Kono had found.

"Charlie looked at the letter. There were no fingerprints, except the courier's and yours Danny. The amount of explosive was so small that it wasn't intended to do much damage, it was more of a warning."

"Well I heard it, loud and clear!"

"The bomb squad checked the Camaro, it was clean," Chin took the keys out of his pocket and placed them on Steve's kitchen counter.

"The courier company said that the letter was dropped off at their New Jersey office. They've requested that the security footage is sent to us, we should have that later today. The return address doesn't exist," Kono finished.

"No real surprise there then," sighed Danny.

"I'm going back to the office to wait for the security footage, maybe we'll get something from that," there was an underlying tone of determination in Kono's voice.

"Look, why don't we all have lunch first. Then Kono and I will go back to the office and view the footage. Chin, Malia and Danny can stay here with Grace."

"Yes to the lunch. No to you going to the office," Chin told Steve, "We already discussed this earlier. If Malia would like to go home then I'll drop her off. We'll come back tonight to update you on what we find."

"OK, but I'll be throwing steaks on the grill for dinner. Malia is welcome to stay or come back for dinner if she'd like to," offered Steve, "In the meantime can someone, other than the man with the bandaged hands, help me get lunch organised?"

"I'll give you a hand, Danny go back in and sit down," instructed Kono.

When Danny had left the room the cousins turned to their boss, "How's he doing?"

"He's worried that he's not going to feel safe in the apartment anymore. I've told him we'll discuss options once the person or people doing this have been caught, until then he's staying here."

"That's good. He's going to need help until those burns have healed," Malia said as she entered the kitchen, "Danny said you were getting lunch, can I help?"

"Sure, could you grab some chips out of the cupboard and put them in a bowl for me please," Steve pointed to the cupboards that she'd need.

"Malia, I'm sorry but I need to go back to the Palace this afternoon, would you like me to drop you home? Steve says you're welcome to stay here and he's going to grill some steaks for dinner."

"I'd like to stay, if you don't mind Steve?"

"Not at all. Once lunch is done I need to go to the store…"

"Make a list and I'll go, you can stay with Danny. I'll also top up the supplies for your first aid kit as you'll need more burn dressings," the woman smiled.

"Chin, you've got a keeper there! I hate going to the store, especially on a Saturday!" chuckled Steve.

"Hey, hands off. She's spoken for!" Chin grabbed Malia in a tight embrace to underline his point.

With everyone's help sandwiches were made and lunch was organised. They ate in the sitting room and although Danny found it a bit awkward with his bandaged hands, as well as a little painful, he managed to eat the sandwich and some chips. Malia then ushered him back to the study to check his burns. By the time she'd finished and Danny was once more in Steve's recliner he was a good few shades paler than he should have been.

"What's the verdict?" Chin asked.

"The burns haven't evolved. Still second degree partial thickness but they're unlikely to get any worse now. I put fresh dressings on which should be fine until tomorrow morning when Danny can have a shower and then more new dressings can be put on. I'm going to go to the store now. Steve, can you give Danny some more Tylenol extra strength?"

"Will do," Steve handed her the list of things that he needed for dinner that night, "Thanks for doing this." Malia simply smiled.

Chin and Kono left soon after to go to the Palace to view the security footage from the courier's New Jersey offices.

Steve handed Danny a bottle of water and the pills that Malia had instructed he should have. His partner took them gratefully before Grace climbed back on his lap and they settled down to watch another movie she'd found on TV.

-5-0-

Malia, Steve and Grace spent the afternoon skipping through various channels as things were found that they wanted to watch. Danny slept most of the afternoon. Steve was worried that he wouldn't sleep that night, but Malia insisted that it was unlikely to be a problem as she had picked up some Tylenol PM which should help him sleep.

Ordinarily Grace would have been chomping at the bit to go outside and play on the beach but what had happened that morning made her want to stay close to Danny and her Uncle. Steve also would normally be outside but knew that Danny would want his daughter to stay nearby and sitting out in the heat of the day was not going to help his burns feel any better.

The injured man hadn't long woken when Chin and Kono returned with news about the security footage. Once again the team left Grace with Malia and adjourned to the kitchen.

"Well we know who sent the letter and you're not going to like it!" stated Kono.

"Who?"

"Shane Warner," Chin supplied.

"He's in New Jersey?"

"Well, he _was_ in New Jersey. We don't know if he's still there now. We've put a call into NJPD and got an alert out on his credit cards and bank account but it looks like he's dropped off the face of the earth, for now at least."

Danny groaned and dropped his head into his hands, a movement which he regretted the moment he completed it but had been entirely instinctual, "Shit!"

Nobody was sure if he was cursing because he'd just caused himself pain or because Shane Warner had made it off the island and had managed to send him a letter bomb, nobody questioned it.

"Well if he's not on the island anymore I suppose I can at least go back to my apartment."

"No. Absolutely not!" Steve growled.

"Why, he's not here to do me any harm. I just won't open any mail that I'm not expecting."

"Danny you moved into that apartment _after _Shane Warner pulled his disappearing act. He knows your address, there's nothing stopping him from sending associates after you there."

"I hate it when you're the voice of reason," sighed Danny.

"So you'll stay here then?"

"Yes, Steven, I'll stay here, for now. I will _not_ stay here indefinitely though babe. I'll give it a couple of weeks, Malia said it will be that long before my hands will have healed enough for me to do some of the things that I currently can't."

"Fair enough," Steve nodded; he understood where his partner was coming from. He hadn't let Wo Fat stop him from living in his home, why should Danny let Shane Warner stop him. At least he had agreed to stay while his hands and arms healed, "Right, let's get the grill going!"

The next few hours were spent trying to distract Danny from all that had happened. As the decking area was cast into a cool shadow with a gentle breeze he was coaxed outside to sit on the deck while Steve and Kono took Grace for a swim while the grill heated up. Once the grill was ready to cook on Chin and Malia joined Kono and Grace building sandcastles, leaving Steve to keep an eye on Danny and cook their steaks.

The dinner was a success, although their favourite New Jersey detective didn't manage to eat as much as normal and was definitely not flinging his hands around as he talked. It seemed he accepted that for the next couple of weeks he would be living with Steve and would also be kept to desk duty. An inconvenience and frustrating, but at least he was around to do it.

After everyone had left and Grace was in bed Steve gave Danny the Tylenol PM that Malia had bought for him to take at night.

"I promise you Danny, no matter where Warner is, we'll find him and put him away!"

"I know Steve, but I'm not planning on putting my life on hold until we do, though I'll have to be more aware when Grace is around."

"You can stay here anytime Danno. You know that, right?"

"Thanks Steve. All I could think of this morning was getting Grace somewhere safe. You'd think that would mean back to Rachel and Stan's gated mansion but it wasn't, it was anywhere you were. I knew I couldn't protect her on my own with this," he indicated his injured arms.

"I'm glad you think that Grace would be safe with me."

"You kidding me? If anything were to happen to me you're one of the few people I know that would take my place in protecting her with your life!"

"Not just if anything were to happen to you Danny."

"Yeah, I know and I appreciate it more than words can ever express."

The two men shared an awkward hug, given that Danny had to be careful of his arms and hands, then they both checked on Grace. They stood in the doorway of 'her' room and watched her sleeping, content that the child they both loved was safe.

**-5-0-**

**A/N: So until I started doing research on the different burns I didn't know that a burn can indeed evolve from a second degree onto a third degree over time. The one thing about writing these chapters is that I'm learning lots of new stuff. It may not be useful to me in my life but it's always good to learn! **


	13. M is for Mactation

**DISCLAIMER: All I want for Christmas is Danny. What do you mean I can't have him because I don't own him? Well damn! Guess I'll have to stick with playing with him and giving him back!**

**A/N: Firstly, as always, thank you for reading / reviewing and alerting. Secondly, I am now out of pre-written chapters folks. The headings and associated injuries have been planned for a few weeks now, but not the actual story lines, sorry. With Christmas in a couple of days I will probably not post again until early next week.**

**WARNING: I wouldn't normally put anything here that would spoil the story but... This story speaks about human sacrifice. Goes into a bit of detail, but I don't think too much so I haven't changed the rating. If you've seen S02E07, then pretend that never happened! On with the story.**

**M is for Mactation**

**Mactation – act of killing a victim for sacrifice**

Danny Williams came to lying face down on the ground and it was dark. He wasn't on his bed, or even on the floor, but on the ground outside. Turning his head to the side he noticed he wasn't alone. '_What the hell?' _ He tried to move, to see what was going on but found that his hands were tied behind his back, even worse his ankles were tied together, which were then in turn tied to his wrists, leaving his knees bent and his feet in the air behind his back. He was _hogtied_!

Closing his eyes he desperately tried to recall how he got into this particular situation. There was no sign of Steve so he couldn't blame him, well at least he didn't think he could. The person next to him spoke.

"What's happening? Where are we?" it was a young woman's voice.

"I dunno. I don't even remember how I got here!"

"Neither do I," a voice from his other side said. This time it was an older man's voice.

"How many people are here?" asked Danny trying to assess the situation.

People called out and from the different sounds of the voices there seemed to be about a dozen people. Danny was wondering why they were all trussed up out here, presumably in the middle of nowhere given the lack of traffic or other noise, and they seemed to be alone. Trussed up and left. Why? This had a familiar feel about it, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Perhaps he'd been drugged to get him here, or hit over the head, he did have a headache so both scenarios were possible and it would certainly explain why his brain felt foggy.

They all laid there in silence, just trying to absorb the situation they found themselves in. Perhaps all it had needed was for him to just stay still and quiet because it was at that moment that he realised why this was familiar and it hit him like a Mack truck. This, the situation he was in, this was part of the case he'd been involved in investigating, a shiver ran through him at the thought. Human sacrifice!

-5-0-

2 days previously.

Danny tapped on Steve's front door before opening it in his usual manner, "Steve?"

"I'm in the kitchen."

"What's the matter with you? Didn't you hear your cell ringing?" demanded Danny as he entered.

"Huh? No," the SEAL quickly pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and saw that he had one missed call from the Governor and three from his partner, "That's strange," he checked that the phone wasn't set to silent, it wasn't, "Ringer must be broken. I'll get Chin to take a look, if he can't fix it I'll buy a new one," he shrugged, "What's up?"

"The Governor called me in an absolute fit. Apparently there has been some sort of mass murder near one of the state monuments."

"Can you be a little bit more specific Danno? There are a few state monuments on Oahu!"

"Don't call me Danno," he pulled out his phone for the details he'd been sent, "Ulupo Heiau."

"OK, that's on the other side of the island near Kailua. It will take about thirty minutes to get across there."

"Well then let's go Super SEAL!" Danny reached the Camaro first but given that he didn't know exactly where they were going he threw the keys to Steve and allowed him to drive.

"So can you tell me anything more than mass murder at a state monument?"

"No, I was busy trying to find out why my partner wasn't answering his phone! I did however ask Chin and Kono to get in touch with HPD to see if they could get any more information," as he said this he pulled out his cell and dialled Chin, putting it on speaker, "Hey Chin, found Steve. He's got a problem with the ringer on his cell, apparently! What have you got for me babe?"

"A family on vacation went to visit the Ulupo Heiau this morning and when they got there they found twelve dead bodies. The site is thought to have been a heiau luakini, that's a sacrificial temple to you Danny!"

"You're kidding? Right?" Danny looked horrified.

"I wish I were Danny. HPD took one look and called the Governor, who in turn requested 5-0 investigate."

"That's just…" Steve was at a loss for words. Twelve murders in one go; no wonder the Governor had requested them. This was going to be an extremely high profile case once the press got wind of it.

"Yeah, I know. CSU and the ME are already on scene but they've been told to wait until you arrive before they touch anything."

"Alright. Danny and I will go to the site and feed any information we get on the victims back to you and Kono for follow up. We're going to need to know everything about these people. Any connections between them, where and when they were last seen… You know the drill."

"You got it boss," Chin replied.

Hanging up the partners glanced at each other, neither able to put into words the feeling of horror that twelve murders had been committed on _their _island. There was an almost imperceptible increase in speed as Steve accelerated.

-5-0-

When they arrived at Ulupo Heiau there was a short trek from the monument there to the actual heiau itself. A huddle of police officers and CSU stood nearby and a man was talking to one of the officers while a woman stood nearby with her two children enfolded in her arms.

"I'll take the witnesses, you take the scene?" asked Steve.

"You'll take the witnesses? Steven these people have been traumatised are you sure you can be sensitive…" Danny's words faltered at the look on his partner's face, "OK, you take the witnesses."  
>Danny walked over to join Charlie Fong, one of the Crime Scene team and Max, the ME. "What do you got for me fellas?"<p>

"Twelve bodies," Charlie replied, "Other than that, can't tell you as we were told not to enter the scene until you showed."

"Alright, let's go," Danny led the men to the heaiu where a Hawaiian man was just leaving. Danny looked at Max and Charlie questioningly.

"He is a kahuna, a priest. The spirits need to be asked for permission for us to enter and the kahuna has given his blessing," Charlie supplied.

"Huh," Danny didn't quite know what to make of it, but if it was part of the Hawaiian culture then he'd roll with it. Entering the heiau even the seasoned Detective was repulsed by what he found. Twelve victims lay in a long line, side by side and lying in pools of their own blood. Charlie quickly began to take photos, documenting each body while another CSI was drawing nearby.

Max started with the body nearest what would have been the altar and moved his way down, checking the body temperatures with his liver probe. Danny stood silently by until the ME had finished.

"Well?"

"Time of death would have been around midnight. They each have a stab wound to the abdomen and a hole in their chests where their hearts have been removed, starting with the body nearest the altar and then moving down the line," Max's voice was detached and professional.

Danny shuddered, the last person had to lay and wait while eleven other people were killed. He couldn't begin to imagine the fear… Turning his full attention back to Max the ME showed him on the first body the gaping hole through which the heart would have been removed.

"Charlie, make sure the team do a thorough sweep of the area just in case the killer left the hearts somewhere close by. I know it's unlikely but…"  
>"No problem Danny," Charlie assured him, "It looks like they were all bound at some point," he pointed out the ropes lying beside each of the bodies.<p>

They were all professionals, used to dealing with death, but twelve people killed and mutilated in such a way at the same time was just… horrific seemed too tame a word to use, but it was beyond anything they'd seen before.

"Max, can you try to establish if the wounds were inflicted by one person?"

"It may be possible to compare the wounds, the angle, whether the person was right or left handed…"

"Thanks, call when you have something…"

"Detective Williams…"  
>"Yeah," he turned back to face Max.<p>

"I believe you will need those," he indicated the IDs that he had given to Charlie as he had checked each body. Charlie in turn had placed each one in an evidence bag and labelled it.

"Thanks Max, Charlie," he nodded before turning to leave in search of his partner and finding the man standing next to him. Damn ninja! "Got IDs, let's call them in to Kono and Chin; they can have HPD carry out the notifications."

"Yeah, OK. Press is here. They want a statement. I don't know what to say!"

"Nothing you can say babe. The families of the victims haven't even been notified yet."

The two men walked back to the area where the car was parked, Steve on the phone with Chin. When they reached the Camaro Steve slid behind the wheel still on the phone, while Danny went and spoke to the HPD officer in charge briefly.

As Danny walked back to the car he heard his name called, looked up and groaned. It was a reporter.

"Detective Williams!" she called again.

Steve had done this on purpose! Slipped into the Camaro to avoid the press, Danny should have done the same thing, but one of them needed to speak to HPD. Unfortunately that meant he was spotted crossing back towards his car.

"Ms Cavanagh," he greeted. It didn't pay to piss the press off.

"What can you tell us Detective?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh come on. We already know that something major has happened here. Look at the number of HPD vehicles, throw in the fact that Commander McGarrett and you are here…" she trailed off.

Danny took a deep breath, knowing that he needed to keep it professional, by that he means not letting the stream of swear words that were building up leave his mouth; he decides to give her the bare minimum, "An incident occurred here some time during the night. I am not at liberty to discuss the situation any further. The Governor's office will release a statement later today," that said he quickly strode towards the Camaro, further questions being shouted at his back, which he ignored. Opening the door he threw himself into the passenger seat and let off the stream of expletives he'd been holding back.

Steve turned in surprise at the creative language his partner was using before turning his attention back to the phone and giving the details of the twelfth victim to Chin and hanging up, "Danny?"

"Damned reporters!"

"You didn't tell them anything, did you?"

"Did I tell…" he sat there with his mouth slightly agape at the question before his hands started to fly as he told his partner exactly what he thought of that, "Of course _not_ Steven! I am a professional. I don't just wear a shirt and tie and look professional, I actually _am_ a professional! That means that I know not to discuss an on-going investigation with the media…." Luckily for Steve his diatribe was cut short by Danny's cell ringing. Pulling the cell out of his pocket Danny glared at the display before answering, "Williams!"

"_Detective Williams, please update me on the situation."_

"There are twelve bodies, stab wound to the abdomen and hearts removed. We have their IDs which Detective Kelly and Officer Kalakaua are currently running. They'll pass details to HPD to carry out the notifications to the next of kin."

"_I hear you spoke to the press," _the Governor didn't sound happy about it and it explained why she was on the phone to him instead of Steve.

"Yes Governor I did. I merely told them that there was an incident at the site during the night and that I couldn't discuss any details. I also advised them that your office would release a statement later today."

"_I see. Well thank you for volunteering my staff for that job Detective Williams!"_

"Look, Governor, I don't have the time or the inclination to arrange a press conference myself! We have a potential sociopath on Oahu and I would think my time would be better spent trying to catch this person!" Danny looked over at Steve briefly; the other man looked a little shocked at the tone he was taking with the Governor.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and Danny wondered if he was about to be requested to appear before the Governor for a severe dressing down about his attitude and lack of respect, _"I understand that, however a 5-0 presence will be required at that press conference Detective Williams and that person will be you."_

"Me? Wouldn't Commander McGarrett be the best choice for a press conference, given that he's the head of the task force?" asked Danny, catching a glare from said Commander.

"_Ordinarily I would agree but given the situation I believe that you, with your experience in law enforcement, will be better placed to handle the press in this case."_

"Yes Governor."

"_I will see you here at 5:00 PM and I will set the press conference for 5:30 PM. That way we'll have thirty minutes to have a chat," _Danny could hear the slight smile in the Governor's voice at that. He guessed that would be when he got the dressing down.

"Yes Governor," hanging up the phone he once again swore emphatically.

"Problem?" asked Steve.

"Yes," growled Danny, "The Governor has volunteered me to do the press conference this afternoon. I have to be at the Governor's by 5:00 PM."

"Oh…" Steve tried really hard not to look too gleeful, honestly he did!

"Wipe that smirk off your face Super SEAL or I will hurt you!"

"Detective," Steve pointed to Danny, "Navy SEAL," he pointed to himself, "I don't think so!" The grin that he gave was all out shit eating.

"One day, when you least expect it, I will prove to you that I have skills that a SEAL would be envious of!"

"Oh really?" scoffed Steve.

"Yeah, really!" Danny folded his arms across his chest and ignored his smirking partner for the rest of the journey back to the Palace.

-5-0-

When Danny and Steve entered the communal space at 5-0 with the computer table they found their two other team mates at that table.

"What have we got?" Steve asked by way of greeting.

"Twelve victims, ranging in age from twenty to sixty. Six men, six women. The checks we've run so far say they have absolutely nothing in common," Kono told them.

"They had a wide range of jobs and lived all over the island. There is nobody in their backgrounds that they all knew," stated Chin, "Some were married, some had kids and some were single."

"There must be a reason why the killer picked these specific people," Steve pointed at the dozen pictures on the plasma screen.

"If there is we can't find one. There isn't even a type to the victims, even if you take the men and women separately. Different hair colour, eye colour, build," Kono sighed, frustrated.

The team stood in silence for a few minutes just looking at each other, well all of them except Danny who was staring at the pictures on the plasma, but didn't appear to be actually _looking_ at them, more staring through them.

"Danny?" Steve prodded gently.

"Huh?" the Detective shook himself slightly.

"What are you thinking?"

"Chin, you said this place was once a sacrificial temple, right?" he pointed at the picture of Ulupo Heiau that was also up on one of the plasmas.

"That's right. Ulupo was thought to have been a heiau luakini at some point in its history," replied Chin.

"I think that this could have been part of a human sacrifice ritual."

"Oh come on, you can't be serious?" Steve scoffed a little at that.

"Yes Steven, I am. Throughout history there has been talk of human sacrifice rituals. I'll give you an example, the Aztecs. They would lay the person to be sacrificed on a stone slab at the top of the temple then their abdomen would be sliced open with a ceremonial knife. A priest would then grab the heart and tear it out, while it was still beating."

"That's just gross," Kono screwed up her nose.

"Didn't you learn anything in school?" asked Danny with a small smile.

"I don't remember learning about human sacrifice!"

"It's a part of a lot of cultures, including Hawaiian," pointed out the one person in the room who didn't consider himself in any way, shape or form Hawaiian, "Heaiu luakini, remember?"

"Would that all have been done by just one person?" Chin wanted to know more.

"No. Normally there would be up to five priests."

"Are you saying that we have five insane killers running round this island?" Steve asked sceptically.

"No, I'm not saying that. We need to wait for Max to tell us more. All I'm saying is the person, or people, responsible have followed some of the rituals of Aztec human sacrifice. We need more information!" Danny wasn't impressed by Steve's dismissive attitude. Yes, it was a bit farfetched, but it wouldn't be the first time a killer had utilised some aspect of history in their killings, "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

"What was that about?" Steve asked, shocked at his partner's quick departure.

"You didn't need to be so dismissive of his thoughts," Chin pointed out, "Danny was just putting an idea out there to be chewed over."

"Yeah brah, I mean, I agree it's a little out there, but it can't hurt to listen to his ideas. We're always telling him he needs to be more open minded…"

Steve looked from Chin and Kono over to Danny's office, the door of which was closed. He could see his partner typing away at his computer; clearly intent on what he was doing, "Yeah, OK. I'll tone down the scepticism and apologise…" Steve was cut off by the ringing of his cell. The person on the other end clearly didn't want to get into any type of conversation as Steve didn't even get a chance to say anything.

Chin and Kono exchanged a glance, "Max!" they stated simultaneously.

Steve rolled his eyes and went to Danny's office door and knocked briefly before opening it, "Max called, he wants to see us."

Danny locked his computer and got up from his desk to follow Steve out to the Camaro, silently climbing into the passenger seat without comment.

"I'm sorry Danny."

"For what exactly?" he knew, but he wasn't going to make this too easy. He had been truly hurt by Steve's dismissal of his thoughts. They were preliminary and may not actually mean anything, but the similarities were undeniable.

"Not giving your theory the respect it deserved. We're still in the early stages of the investigation and to dismiss any idea this early on isn't smart."

"Your apology is noted and accepted."

"Accepted? Not pending acceptance?" Steve teased.

"No Steven. You have realised the error of your ways without me needing to rant at you. I will be sure to thank Kono and Chin later for pointing it out for me!" he grinned back at his partner whose mouth was currently hanging open. They all knew each other too well.

Arriving at the Medical Examiner's building they went straight for Max's office where he was waiting for them.

"Hey Max," they both greeted the somewhat eccentric ME.

"Detective Williams, Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, I haven't completed the autopsies on all the bodies yet, as I am sure you can appreciate these will take some time. However since I was asked a specific question relating to the victims injuries I decided to start with examining the wounds."

"What did you find Max," prompted Danny, wishing the man didn't feel the need to go into such detail at times.

"The wounds were all inflicted by the same knife and person."

"One person?"

"Yes, Commander McGarrett. I can say with a degree of certainty that the same person stabbed each of these victims in the abdomen and then used the knife to cut open the chest and rip the heart out."

"How can you tell Max?"

"The angle of the wounds, the force which was used, is consistent with a right handed individual. If the wounds had been inflicted by different people then the depth and angle of the wounds would conceivably be different."

"Degree of certainty? Conceivably?" Steve asked.

"I can't be 100% sure of this, but my findings do strongly suggest it. The knife was definitely the same. There must be an imperfection on the blade which is shown in all the wounds. The knife you are looking for is serrated and I would say that two of the teeth that make up the serrations are broken."

"If we find the weapon can it be matched?" Danny wanted to know.

"Yes. The blade struck bone and left a mark as unique as a fingerprint."

"Thanks Max. Please let us know if you find anything else."

"Of course," he pushed his glasses back up his nose before walking out of his office and back to complete the autopsies.

"What now?" Steve wanted to know. He recognised the look on Danny's face and the man clearly had an idea.

"Let's head over to HPD and speak to Charlie," suggested Danny.

"OK," the two men left to drive the short distance to HPD HQ.

-5-0-

The door opened to the lab area and Charlie looked up, "Hey Danny, Steve."

"Hey Charlie," Steve smiled but allowed Danny to take the lead on getting an update.

"Charlie," greeted Danny, "Have you had a chance to look at the ropes used to tie the victims up yet?"

"I was just starting them now," he indicated the evidence bags stacked to the side of his work space.

"I know you might not be able to tell us this, but is there any way to know if the ropes were tied by the same person?"

"If there's DNA on the rope, of course, if not… I'm not sure."

"Could you compare the way the knots were tied?"

"Yes. That won't necessarily tell you if the same person tied them though."  
>"But if the knots are identical then surely there's a good chance of it?" Danny pressed.<p>

"I guess. It's not something I could swear to in court though."

"Fair enough. Can you do me a favour and check that?"

"Yeah, of course," Charlie replied.

"Thanks man, appreciate it," Danny smiled, "Anything else to tell us?"

"No hearts found. We cast some footprints and tyre treads which one of the techs is trying to identify, but I don't have anything for you yet."

"OK, call us when you've got something," Steve slapped him on the back and the partners left him to get on with his work.

"Back to the Palace?"

"Huh?" Danny was a little caught up in his thoughts and didn't quite catch what he'd been asked.

"I said, back to the Palace?"

"Yeah," the pair travelled in unusual silence.

Arriving back at the Palace Danny headed straight for his office. Chin and Kono looked at Steve and he just shrugged, deciding to wait for Danny to be ready to share whatever was on his mind. They didn't have to wait long.

Danny came back into the communal area and stood by the computer table before speaking, "I honestly think that whoever did this took their idea from human sacrifice rituals. I did some research and there are obvious differences."

"Like what?" Steve asked, trying to keep an open mind.

"During the Aztec rituals the person to be sacrificed wasn't tied up at any point."

"Anything else?" asked Chin.

"Yeah. The priest didn't cut open the chest to get the heart. The cut to the abdomen would go through the diaphragm; the priest would simply reach in through the diaphragm and grab the heart!"

"I am so glad that I wasn't alive back then!" Kono stated emphatically, shuddering.

"How do you know you weren't?" Chin grinned at her.

"You mean like in a past life?" she raised an eyebrow at her cousin.

"Exactly Cuz!"

"Why do you think this ritual is different?" Steve asked genuinely interested.

"I think it's just one person, hence tying the victims up. As for the heart, maybe they want to make the ritual more individual to themselves so instead of reaching through the diaphragm, they cut the heart out. I don't know, I'm just guessing here."

"Twelve people, one individual."

"We haven't got the tox screen back yet, but I'm willing to bet they were each drugged. The perp probably had a vehicle nearby and took them one at a time and left them in the vehicle until he reached the site. The heiau's are closed after dark. There's nothing of monetary value out there so no security. Once it was dark the perp moved the victims out, again one at a time, to the heiau where they were found this morning."

"Twelve victims though. Is there significance to that do you think?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

Steve looked carefully at Danny, "There's something else. What is it?"

Danny shoved his hands in his pockets, a move that Steve recognised as being defensive, and he shrugged.

"Come on Danny, what is it?"

"I don't think this was his or her first time killing like this. Twelve people is a lot, I think they would have built up to this level of violence."

"We'd know if something else like this had happened on Oahu."

"Doesn't necessarily have to have been on Oahu," Danny pointed out, "There are other Hawaiian islands with heiau's and other religious monuments where it's possible that sacrifices took place."

"OK, Chin, Kono, get searches going of all law enforcement databases for crimes involving these components. Reach out to the forces on the other islands," ordered Steve. Whether this involved human sacrifice or not, it was still murder and Danny had a point. If this was one individual then they'd likely escalated to this level of violence.

-5-0-

Promptly at 5:00 PM Danny presented himself at the Governor's office. A fresh shirt and tie retrieved from his office desk and a quick shower to ensure he looked fresh and professional. He was shown immediately into her office.

"Detective Williams," she greeted him formally.

"Ma'am," he returned the favour.

"Firstly let's discuss your little outburst earlier shall we?"

Danny fidgeted reminded of the numerous times he had been sent to the principal's office, "I apologise if I was rude Governor, but you didn't see what I did out there," his hands waved around.

"Your apology is accepted Danny," she smiled at him, "In future if you're going to offer the services of my staff I would appreciate a call either before the fact or, if that's not possible, straight after."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good, now sit down and let's talk about how we're going to handle this press conference."

-5-0-

Steve, Kono and Chin all paused in their work dealing with the numerous hits they'd got on crimes with similar aspects to the one at Ulupo, trying to weed out the ones that only shared certain commonalities, to watch the press conference.

"Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for coming. I would like to hand this press conference over to Detective Williams who has a statement to make in relation to an incident at Ulupo Heiau today."

"Thank you Governor," said Danny as he stepped up to the microphone, there wasn't even a sign of the nerves that the rest of his team knew he must be feeling, "At approximately 8:00 AM this morning several bodies were discovered at Ulupo Heiau," he had agreed with the Governor that although they needed to share some information with the press, they didn't want to create a panic by telling the public, just yet, about how many bodies had been found or in what condition, "HPD attended the scene and requested assistance from 5-0, which we are happy to be able to provide. The next of kin of the deceased are still being notified so we will not be giving out further details about them at this time. I would like to appeal to the public for assistance, if you saw anything unusual in the area of Ulupo Heiau State Monument between 6:00 PM last night and 8:00 AM this morning please contact the number shown on screen, any information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence. No matter how small it might seem please call. A further press conference will be arranged for the same time tomorrow evening. Thank you for your time," Danny stepped back from the microphone to questions being shouted at him. The Governor took Danny's place and skilfully avoided answering any of the questions while the Detective made good his escape.

"He did really well. Didn't mention how many bodies or that it was murder," Kono was impressed.

"He's getting better at pronouncing names as well. I could barely tell that he wasn't a local from the way he pronounced Ulupo Heiau," Chin pointed out.

"I'm just glad it was him and not me up there!" Steve grinned.

-5-0-

Danny returned to the Palace and walked back into the 5-0 offices only to be set up on by the rest of his team when they noticed the take away bags he was carrying.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Danny manoeuvred around them, "You bunch of animals! At least let me get into the room!"

Kono giggled as she followed him to the conference table on the right hand side of the communal office and helped him unpack the Chinese food that he had stopped to get for them.

Steve produced a bottle of beer for each of them from the fridge in his office. It was low alcohol since they'd likely be working all night or at least for a good portion of it, but it was still welcomed by his team.

By silent agreement the case wasn't discussed while they were eating. Who wanted to talk about human sacrifice while munching on Kung Pao chicken? Instead they talked about Kono's surfing, Grace's latest exploits, Steve's fixer upper of a car and how Chin was finding dating Malia again. It didn't strike Danny as odd that when he spoke it was only about Grace because time off in Oahu meant spending time with Grace whenever he could.

Once the four had had their fill they cleared away the remainder of the meal, putting the leftovers in the fridge in their small kitchen area and then they gathered around the computer table.

"So, while I was playing deer in the camera lights, what did you find?"

"Too many cases involve hearts being removed from bodies!" Kono stated.

"We spent the time going through them all and taking out ones that didn't seem likely to fit. Organs stolen from corpses at a mortuary, that kind of thing," Chin told him.

"Who would want…? Never mind, I don't need to know," it never ceased to amaze Danny the things humans were capable of doing.

"We have three that we think are likely to be the same person or persons," Steve turned to Danny letting him know with a look that they were by no means dismissing his one person theory but were keeping their options open, "Mookini Heiau State Monument on the Big Island, over a period of four months, January to April this year, they found four bodies there, each time the abdomen was slit open and the heart was missing."

"Halekii-Pihana Heiau State Monument on Maui, in June this year, they found four bodies in the same state as the ones at Ulupo. Tied up, abdomen slit open, heart missing," Kono supplied the next location.

Finally Chin told Danny about the final one they'd managed to find that exactly matched their own case, "Poli'ahu Heiau on Kauai, August, they found eight bodies, same again. Tied up, abdomen slit, heart missing."

"In all three cases the bodies were found at a heiau luakini site and there were no leads found. Each of the tox reports on the victims shows that they were dosed with diazepam. If ours comes back the same…"

"Then chances are we have a serial killer or killers," Danny finished.

"Yeah," Steve ran a hand through his hair, "Look there's nothing more we can do tonight. Let's all go and get some rest and come back tomorrow morning. Hopefully with fresh eyes and more information from Max and Charlie we'll be able to see something that we've missed."

Although reluctant to leave, they did all agree in the end that it would be better to start again early the next morning after some sleep.

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono entered the office the following morning to find Danny already there. In fact it didn't look like he'd been home given his dishevelled appearance.

"Danny?"

"Oh, morning guys," he replied a little absentmindedly.

"Did you get _any_ sleep last night? You did go home didn't you?" Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes to both! I woke up a couple hours ago and couldn't sleep so came into the office," in truth they had left the office around midnight and he'd come back at about 4:00 AM, but he wasn't telling them that.

Steve was about to tell his partner to go and get some more sleep when his cell rang, "McGarrett… Where? How many? We'll be there in thirty minutes," he snapped his cell shut, "Twelve more bodies, Keaiwa Heiau."

"Huh," was all Danny said.

"That's it? Huh? I tell you twelve more people have been murdered and all you can manage is huh?" Steve glared at his partner.

"Just, it doesn't fit."

"What do you mean Danny?" Chin asked, surprised.

"According to my research Keaiwa Heiau was a medicinal or healing heiau. Luakini isn't mentioned."

"That is different, so perhaps it's not about the luakini so much as about the heiau itself?" Kono pondered.

"Not to mention this is an extreme escalation in the killer or killers' behaviour! There has been weeks between kills previously," Danny pointed out.

"Shit. Let's go!" Steve ordered, the four team members heading out together. Kono and Chin in his SUV, Steve and Danny in the Camaro.

The scene at Keiawa Heiau was identical to the one they had found at Ulupo, the bodies in a line, abdomens slit and hearts gone.

-5-0-

5:30 that evening found Danny once again at the Governor's office and standing in front of the press. Sadly they had to be more specific about the murders at the two heiau's, the public had to be warned.

"Thank you for coming. At 7:00 AM this morning more bodies were found at Keiawa Heiau. The last thing that I want to do is cause the good people of Oahu to panic but we believe that you all have the right to know what has happened. You may find the following details may be distressing. Twelve individuals were found murdered at both Ulupo and Keiawa. There is an element of ritual sacrifice being utilised. We believe that the person carrying out these heinous crimes is a sociopath. It is likely to be a male, of average height and build. He is between the ages of twenty and thirty. The man is probably unemployed and hasn't had a job in sometime due to being unreliable and the fact he moves around a lot. He will have a sense of entitlement and will lack the ability to show shame or remorse. The end will always justify the means to this individual. It is likely that he will have a history of behavioural or academic difficulties and may have shown cruelty to animals early on. This man is using diazepam to subdue his victims before he kills them. If anything that I have said resembles someone you know then please contact the number on your screens, your call will be treated in the strictest confidence. I would also caution you about walking around on your own until this man is apprehended. Thank you."

Danny puffed out a breath as he left the Governor's office. He was tired and this whole situation was difficult, to say the least. The team and HPD had been run ragged all day trying to notify the families of the victims and tracking any leads.

He pulled away from the Governor's and drove off into the fading light. Stopping to pick up some take away meant he needed to park the Camaro and then walk down a quiet street but the team needed to eat. Danny never noticed the man walking towards him until he bumped into him.

"Oh, excuse me Detective Williams."

That got Danny's attention. He knew that the members of 5-0 were now quite well known on the island but it was disconcerting for a stranger to address him, "That's alright," he replied and started to walk away, stumbling slightly, suddenly dizzy.

"Here, let me help you," the man looked around before manhandling Danny into a waiting van, removing his cell and dropping it in the gutter before throwing him in the back. Then he jumped into the passenger seat and they were gone.

-5-0-

"How did Danny get that profile information?" Kono wanted to know later.

"He contacted a friend at the BAU in DC," replied Steve, "If it wasn't for the time it would take them to get here they would have sent a team out to help."

"Where is Danny anyway, shouldn't he be back by now?" Chin asked.

"Yeah, he should be," Steve pulled out his cell and dialled but got no answer. "Perhaps he's still with the Governor," he dialled again; "Hello Governor is Danny still with you? When did he leave? OK, no, there's no problem, thanks."

"Well?" demanded Kono.

"He left the Governor's nearly an hour ago. Trace his cell," Steve turned to Chin to find him already doing it.

"It's showing at Kukahi Street just off North Nimitz Highway," advised Chin.

"Isn't that where Little Caesars Pizza is?"

"Yeah it is, he's probably stopped there to get dinner."

The three team mates relaxed, at least for a short while. When Danny still hadn't returned thirty minutes later and they still couldn't reach him on his cell Chin and Steve left to see what was going on. Kono stayed in the office in case he turned up there.

Chin and Steve pulled into Kukahi Street and found the Camaro parked at the side of the road, with no sign of Danny. Both men walked to the pizza place and asked if they had seen Danny but nobody fitting his description had been in. Even more worried they left and returned to the Camaro and Steve dialled Danny's cell. They heard it ringing and Chin found it at the side of the road.

"This is so not good brah," Chin stated.

"I know," Steve responded, "Let's get back to the Palace, I'll take the Camaro back," he pulled out his keys with the spare key for Danny's car attached, "Get a BOLO out on Danny!"

They returned to the Palace to find Kono pacing, "Did you find him?"

"No. We only found his cell!"

"Guys, what if it's the man whose been committing these murders at the heiau?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. It could just as easily be Shane Warner. In fact, Kono, track him down, make sure he's still on the mainland and hasn't managed to get back onto the islands," Steve ordered.

"What if Kono's right," Chin spoke quietly to Steve.

"Then we need to figure out where he's going with Danny."

"I'm going to check Danny's office; he'd printed off a lot of research on heiau luakini."

Steve nodded and then picked up the phone in his office to inform the Governor that Danny was missing.

Two hours later the three remaining 5-0 team members gathered around the computer table.

"Kono, what did you find on Shane Warner?"

"I checked all incoming flights to Oahu in the last month. Warner wasn't on any of them and none of his known aliases are showing up. Honestly he could be using a different name, changed his appearance, flown to one of the other islands, got a cruise ship here…"

"Yeah, OK, I get it!" sighed Steve, "Chin, what have you found?"

"I went through what Danny had printed off. At the bottom of a _very_ big pile of printouts I found this," he laid a map of Oahu on the computer table. It showed where all the state parks were on Oahu. "He's highlighted three," Chin pointed to them, "One is Ulupo, one is Keiawa and the other is Pu'u O Mahuka."

"So two of the sites were where the murders were committed, what about the third?"

"It's the only other heiau luakini on Oahu according to Danny's research."

That got Steve's attention, "Perhaps Danny thought that was where the killer would go to next, if indeed he kills again on Oahu."

"I think it's worth checking out Steve. Danny went on the evening news and told everyone that this guy was a sociopath. If he saw that it could have potentially made him a target."

"Alright, let's go. It'll take nearly an hour to get there." Steve was out the door before the sentence was complete.

-5-0-

Danny was uncomfortable and even though it was a reasonably warm night he was actually chilled. He knew the team would have missed him by now, but would they have put two and two together… He chided himself, of course they would.

The team would find him, but that didn't mean he was going to wait around to be rescued like some damsel in distress! Anyway there was always a chance they wouldn't make it in time so he had to get free and protect these people from the maniac that had decided to offer them up as human sacrifices.

"Can everyone hear me?" he called out. When he got a general sound of agreement he spoke again, "I am Detective Danny Williams with 5-0. We are going to get out of this. I want you to lie back to back with the person next to you and see if you can undo the ropes at your wrists," putting actions into words he rolled on to his left side and nudged the person next to him. They took the hint and rolled on to their side. "I'm going to try to undo your ropes first," stated Danny.

"OK," came the reply, it was the young woman.

His fingers were numb from lack of blood flow where the ropes had been bound tightly but once he started manipulating them and trying to undo the rope at her wrists the feeling started to come back. It was painful but it was also good, it kept him aware despite how tired he felt.

"I felt them loosen!"

"That's good, sorry what's your name?"

"Naomi."

"That's good Naomi, just don't move, if you do you could pull them tight again," it had to have been a good twenty minutes before Danny felt the ropes loosen and they fell from Naomi's wrists.

"Oh my god! You did it!" Naomi quickly turned over and undid his ropes, when Danny finally sat up his world span and he felt extremely dizzy, but he pushed the feeling away. Glancing at his watch he noticed it was gone 11:00 PM. If the killer wanted them all 'sacrificed' around midnight he'd return soon. He needed to get these people free and out of the area.

"Help me untie everyone," he looked down the line of people noticing that they were all still, clearly having given up quite quickly trying to free one another. Naomi nodded and they alternated as they went down the line until everyone was free. Including Danny there were thirteen people. Perhaps he was a late addition.

Danny was gathering the group when the sound of a vehicle pulling up was heard and the sound of footsteps approached quickly. The group were blinded when a powerful flashlight was shone on them. Danny immediately stepped to the front trying to use his presence to protect the others as much as possible.

"YOU!" the husky voice of a man came from the darkness behind the flashlight.

"Let these people go. I'll stay but…"  
>"NO! There needs to be at least twelve people for the sacrifice," there was a definite hint of mania in those words.<p>

"There aren't going to be any sacrifices tonight. I will not let you kill these innocent people," the Detective prayed that this man didn't have a gun, if he did then not only was he dead, so were the people he was trying to protect. He was kind of counting on the guy's desire to follow a certain ritual and bullet holes would ruin that.

"Detective Daniel Williams. According to you I am a sociopath, but you know nothing about me!" growled the man.

"Ah, so you caught my press conference then. How did I look?" Danny could hear Steve's voice in his head telling him to shut the hell up, but it just wasn't in his genetic make-up.

"You are ruining my ritual!"

"_You_ want to _murder_ innocent people!"

"I have to. It is my duty to appease the gods."

"Say what? I don't think there is a god in any modern religion that would want you to sacrifice human's for them!"

"The Aztecs routinely sacrificed humans in order to please the gods. The life blood of a human sacrifice feeds them and by doing so allows the sun to continue to rise and you to live your miserable existence!"

"Yeah, well guess what, we don't live in those times, we live in the twenty-first century and human sacrifice is frowned upon! As for my existence, let me tell you something about that. I am a Detective on the Governor's Taskforce. I put away drug lords; child molesters; gun runners and… _people… like… you! _I am _proud_ of what I do!" Danny knew he was pushing this guy's buttons, but he was desperately trying to distract him from the fact that he was moving tiny step by step.

"People like me? You mean servants to the gods? I am better than you, better than any of you!" the man's voice rose loudly.

Danny felt the people behind him move restlessly. Too scared to move but wanting desperately to run, "We're leaving. Don't try to stop us," without taking his eyes off the maniac behind the flashlight Danny spoke over his shoulder, "We are walking out of here people, just make sure you keep me between you and him."

"He'll kill us!"

"Lady he's gonna kill us anyway! I heard someone say that those poor people at the other heaiu's had their abdomens slit and their hearts ripped out… I'd rather at least make an attempt to get away and save myself."  
>Danny inwardly groaned. He had no idea how that information had leaked out and the man telling the others that right at this moment was <em>not<em> helpful.

Naomi spoke up, "Detective Williams wouldn't suggest that we move if it wasn't safe to do so, right Detective?"

"No, I wouldn't. Walk slowly round to my right, don't rush and keep me between you and him," Danny could have kissed Naomi for her confidence in him as she slowly did as he asked.

"NO! Stay where you are. I have a gun and I'll shoot you!"

A quiet gasp went up from the group and they stopped moving. Danny rolled his eyes, "OK, say you do have a gun and you shoot these nice people. How does that affect your sacrifice?"

"It doesn't! They're dead. The gods don't care about how…"

"Oh, really," for once Danny was glad that he'd read up on his subject though a lot of what he was saying was him talking out his ass if he was honest, "I thought the gods liked the ritual behind the sacrifice. Abdomen slit with a ceremonial knife, heart ripped out. There's no ritual if you use a bullet. I don't think the gods would be very pleased."

"SHUT UP!"

"Keep moving," Danny whispered over his shoulder to Naomi who stood pressed up against his back. Nodding the young woman did as she was told, "Come on what god wants a sacrifice made with a bullet? You're not a servant to the gods, you're just a freak! You're mentally unstable!"

The flashlight wobbled and the fury in the voice of the man behind it was palpable, "How _dare_ you? I will slice open your stomach and pull your heart out as it still beats! I will show you no mercy, unlike the others who sacrificed their lives so that the gods could be appeased."

"You call that mercy? I call that barbaric!" Danny had been taking small steps to his right, still keep himself between the lunatic and his potential victims as much as possible, but he knew he couldn't possibly protect all twelve; his only option was to take the man behind the flashlight down. Glancing round him quickly, getting a sense of where everyone was, in case the man really did have a gun, Danny noticed a blue flash coming from not too far away, it was pulsing. It must be the rest of 5-0! There was no doubt about it; the flashing blue light not too far off was that of a police car and Danny would bet his life on it being his team leading the charge. Actually he _was_ betting his life on it.

No warning to those around him he just went from standing still to running full speed towards the man who had brought them here. He was so shocked to see Danny charge at him that he dropped the flashlight and didn't even move as the Detective barrelled into him.

The air was knocked out of both men but they recovered quickly. Danny saw the glint of a knife in the moonlight and rolled out of the way as it came swinging towards him. The blade embedded in the ground next to him just an inch away from where his head currently lay.

Not giving the other man a chance to pull the blade out of the ground Danny threw himself on top of the other man and wrestled with him. In truth the struggle lasted longer than it should have but Danny was bone tired and the only thing keeping him going was adrenaline at this point. The man underneath him bucked and wriggled but couldn't throw Danny off; seemingly giving up the man went limp. The Detective wasn't fooled and only eased up enough to take a look at his surroundings.

There was a group of people running towards them from what he assumed was the direction of the car park, the group that he had been so desperate to protect were hurrying to meet them. They were all safe. Clearly he had relaxed a little too much at the sight of help arriving as the man beneath him managed to move his right arm and before Danny could react he felt the sting of a needle being plunged into his shoulder.

Well if this maniac thought that was going to get Danny off him he was sadly mistaken. Struggling to fight the drugs that were now in his system he just let his full body weight push down on the man beneath him.

"Danny!" Steve's voice was like music to his ears, not that he would ever tell the SEAL that, "Are you alright?" he helped his friend off his would be killer and he was swiftly handed over to HPD.

"Bastard stuck me with a needle!" Danny groaned, rubbing his shoulder.

Steve looked at the ground and saw the discarded syringe, "Shit! Kono, get EMTs."

"Pfft, I'll be fine, help me up," he held a hand up and Steve shrugged at Chin and Kono before helping Danny to his feet. He didn't last long and a wave of dizziness swept over him. Thanks to Steve and Chin he didn't face plant on the ground.

"Come on Danno, EMTs, now!"

"Dun… call m… Dan…no!"

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono stood at the passenger door of the Camaro grinning fondly at their sleeping team mate.

"Doctor Jensen is sure that he's going to be OK?" asked Kono, concern removing the grin.

"Yeah, he's just sedated. The tox panel came back as showing he had a rather high, but not dangerous, dose of diazepam in his system. There's nothing they can do for him here, he just needs to sleep it off, which he can do at my place," Steve closed the door and walked round to the driver's side, "See you there?"

"Yup," Chin and Kono both nodded their agreement.

They arrived back at Steve's and helped settle their friend into his room before they all turned in for the night. None of them wanted to be apart that night.

-5-0-

Footsteps on the stairs mid-morning the following day made Steve, Chin and Kono look up to see Danny holding on to the wall as he walked down.

Jumping to his feet Steve went to meet him and assisted the still wobbly and limping man to the recliner, "How you feeling?"

"My mouth is full of cotton wool; my head is pounding and my legs don't want to co-operate! My knee hurts! Exactly how much did I have to drink last night?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"It's all a bit hazy!"

"Sociopath, human sacrifices, ring any bells?"

"Oh… shit! Is everyone OK?"

"Thanks to you, they're fine. You, however, got a large dose of diazepam just as we arrived, hence the hangover like feeling. Your knee hurts because you were hogtied for quite a while."

"Ugh!" A glass of ice cold water appeared in front of him, he lifted bloodshot bleary eyes and gave Kono a small smile, "Thanks babe," he downed the glass and it was immediately refilled. Danny leaned back in the recliner and rubbed his hands over his face, "So come on, details?"

"Well from the research you did we figured that the only place left for Manson…" Steve stopped at the incredulous look on Danny's face.

"Really? His name was Manson?"

"Oh yeah. Charles Manson! Born Sebastian Connors. He changed his name when he turned twenty-one."

"I feel like I'm living in a bad movie!"

"Anyway, Chin found the map you had with the three heiau's marked on it. We figured that Pu'u O Mahuka was where he would go next so we high tailed it out there. When we arrived we found a van with a woman behind the wheel. Manson's wife."

"He was married?"

"Yup."

"Well they do say that sociopath's are great at conning and manipulating people."

"Anyway HPD took her into custody and that's when we came across you and Manson. He'd literally just stuck you with a syringe full of diazepam. Sorry man, if we'd been a few minutes earlier…"

"Don't worry about it. You got there in time. If you hadn't arrived when you did I'd have been powerless and he'd have likely used me as his human sacrifice," Danny physically shuddered at the thought.

"So, Danny was wrong, he didn't do it alone." Kono commented.

"No, he wasn't wrong. He didn't do the abductions alone, but if his wife is to be believed she had nothing to do with the actual murders." Chin told Kono.

"Right, wrong, I don't care, the main thing is the psycho is behind bars!" Danny yawned widely.

"Come on, I think you should go back to bed. Doctor Jensen said it would take a couple of days for you to get over the effects of the diazepam," Steve pulled Danny to his feet and ushered him up the stairs, only returning to the others when he was sure his friend was safely in his bed asleep.

A couple of hours later Kono had gone for a swim while Steve and Chin stayed inside and watched a game. At first they weren't sure they heard anything, so Steve turned the sound off on the TV and then they heard the noise again. It was Danny! Both men were up the stairs and in the bedroom in seconds.

Danny was lying tangled in the sheets, sweat glistened on his body and he was crying out in his sleep.

Kneeling next to the bed but not getting too close, Steve tried to wake his partner, "Danny! Come on man, wake up!"

"Danny, you're dreaming, wake up!" Chin tried, still nothing.

Steve tentatively laid a hand on Danny's shoulder and shook him, "DANNY!"

The sleeping man shot bolt upright but was immediately pressed back onto the bed by his two concerned friends.

"What…?"

"Nightmare," Steve told him succinctly, watching Chin disappear. He returned a few minutes later with a glass of water. They helped him sit up and handed him the glass of water which he held in still shaking hands.

"Thanks," he indicated the water.

"No problem brah," Chin smiled.

"And sorry," Danny murmured.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," assured Steve, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I know that I should," he took a breath, "I was dreaming that we didn't get free in time. Manson came back and went to the start of the line. He cut the ropes of the first person, rolled them over and stabbed the knife into their abdomen. The person screamed in agony, but it was nothing compared to the scream when Manson stabbed the knife into their chest so that he could cut out their heart, then he moved on to the next person and I knew that it would be my turn soon…" a shaky hand was rubbed through his hair.

"That didn't happen Danny," Steve said trying his best to sooth his best friend.

"Not to me, or the people out there last night, but it did to so many others Steve."

"You can't save everyone Danny, you know that," said Chin squeezing his leg as he sat on the end of the bed.

"I know, but I came so near to suffering that fate and I can't help but feel for those that actually endured it. I don't understand how we managed to get away when others didn't. Don't get me wrong I'm grateful…"

"Perhaps we can help with that," Steve spoke now, "Normally Manson would grab the people he wanted to use as sacrifices between 10:00 PM and midnight. Thanks to your press conference he had to step it up which meant that all of you were conscious before you should have been. That meant you had time to come up with a strategy to get free."

"Steve…"

"Yes Danny?"

"I'm not doing any more press conferences!" That got a grin from his friends, but there was still the undercurrent of concern, "Am I allowed a shower?"

"Do you think you can stand long enough?"

"Huh, dunno, hadn't really thought about that!"

"Why don't you go into my bathroom, at least if you start to feel dizzy or anything you can sit on the side of the tub. Just shout if you need a hand."

Danny untangled his feet from his bedding and got up; gaining his balance with a little help from Steve's steadying hand. He walked Danny through to the bathroom and when he was sure he had everything he needed returned to Danny's room and changed the bedding. After his shower Danny insisted on going back downstairs. Yes, he was tired, but he didn't want to close his eyes again. The images of people having their hearts ripped out were too much to take right now.

Kono came back in from her swim, had a shower and joined the men in the living room. This time Steve had steered Danny towards the couch hoping that he would stretch out and fall asleep. He was out of luck as the man sat against one arm rigidly.

Selecting a light hearted movie that was showing the friends sat in silence. The film had only been on for about half an hour when Danny's head started to nod. Kono gently nudged him and tried to get him to lie down on the couch they were both sitting on but he just shook his head. She looked at Chin and Steve who just shrugged at a loss to know what to do.

Kono rolled her eyes and the next time Danny's head nodded she grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him towards her until he was settled with his head on her lap. Both Chin and Steve pretended not to notice.

Danny tried to fight and sit back up but every time he tried Kono just pushed him back down. Eventually he gave up the fight, just too damn tired to care that he had his head in Kono's lap. He just hoped that Chin wouldn't chase him with his shotgun later! When Danny stopped fidgeting and finally relaxed Kono gently ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing gesture she'd seen him use on Grace after a bad dream. It wasn't long before quiet snores were coming from the sleeping man.

Turning to look at her the other two men in the room raised their eyebrows at her and she grinned, "Needed a woman's touch," she whispered.

Steve chuckled, got up and pulled a blanket that he kept on the back of the couch over his slumbering friend. Chin knew that there was nothing more than friendship in Kono's gesture, it was something she'd done for him after a bad case and would do for Steve if he would let anyone other than Danny get close enough to offer any kind of comfort.

As long as Kono was around the men of 5-0 would always find a feminine touch to help them through the aftermath of bad cases. Danny slept the rest of the afternoon without a dream to disturb the sleep he needed so much.

-5-0-

**A/N: Good or bad? Whether you enjoyed this extra long chapter or not, I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I enjoyed the research into the rather macabre Aztec rituals as well as the heiau luakini's that are on Oahu and other islands. Yes, they're real places. I just couldn't find a good place to stop which is why this is so long. If I had come up with this idea outside of this series it would no doubt have been a multi chapter story.**

**All that remains now is for me to wish you all a Safe and Happy Christmas. **


	14. N is for Nose

**DISCLAIMER: No Santa didn't bring me the rights to Hawaii 5-0, nor did he put Scott Caan in my stocking! *sigh***

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews as always, reading and alerting as well. I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable holiday. So the title of this one is a little tenuous. I had another idea for N then decided that I would save it for another time, maybe. I don't think this chapter is one of my best but I hope it will tide you over until I can get the next one written.**

**N is for Nose**

Danny arrived at the 5-0 offices early this particular morning. He'd been unable to sleep knowing that there was a mountain of paperwork from their last case to complete. Entering the main office he walked through the darkened room and headed for his own corner office. He opened the blinds to allow the light in and then turned on his PC, while that booted up he returned to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, waiting patiently until it was done before filling a mug and returning to his office. Closing the door he settled down behind his desk.

Opening up the relevant file he turned his attention to completing the form. How did you make threatening a suspect with electrocution sound like you came by your information using correct procedure? That was Danny's lot in life, to explain away Super SEAL's penchant for threatening, cajoling and otherwise breaking procedures for getting confessions and information out of suspects.

Talking of Super SEAL, Steve entered the main office and switched on all the computers. He waved at Danny before turning to enter the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee and then into his own office. Hopefully, Danny thought, to start his own paperwork.

A few minutes later the same ritual was followed by Chin and Kono. Danny knew they'd be doing their paperwork. Kono, as the rookie, may be picking up some of Steve's bad habits, but she was also picking up some of Danny's and Chin's good ones, meaning that she knew better than to put off the paperwork.

Reading over the form he had just filled in before he printed it off Danny realised that something was a little off. Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd realised it since returning to his office with his coffee. He paused wondering what it could be, looking around the office to see if something was out of place, which it wasn't. Shrugging he started to turn his attention back to the form when he realised what it was. It wasn't anything out of place so much as it was a smell, the smell of almonds.

Danny pushed his chair back and moved to his closed office door, pushing the red box that was the fire alarm on his way out. The others hurried out of their own offices as Danny pulled the office door closed behind him, hopefully giving them more time to get out of the building.

"There's the smell of almonds in my office," he stared at Steve.

Immediately the SEAL knew what Danny was talking about and quickly took charge, "Everyone out of the building," Steve pulled his cell out and put a call into dispatch, wanting to ensure that the alarm was treated as real and not as a drill. He requested EMTs and Hazmat be dispatched as soon as possible advising that it was possible cyanide gas had been released in the 5-0 offices. He ushered his team out of the building before him making sure he was the last to leave. That meant he was the one to see Danny sit himself down on the steps to the Palace and drop his head in his hands, "Danny?"

"Dizzy, headache," was the only response he got.

"Shit. How long were you in your office for this morning?" Steve knelt down in front of him.

"About twenty minutes."

"Well if someone has released cyanide gas into the offices it must be at a low concentration otherwise you'd be dead!"

"Wow, thanks," Danny managed to get out, sending his partner a baleful glare, somehow not feeling comforted at all as he noticed he was starting to feel a little short of breath. Perhaps that was just because he was a little bit panicked by the circumstances. Not that he'd admit that to anyone. He may not be a SEAL but he knew what cyanide gas could do if you inhaled or ingested enough of it.

"Steve? Danny?" Chin and Kono hurried back towards them.

"I think Danny's been exposed. Ambulance is already on the way. Is everyone out?" Steve answered for both of them.

"Yeah," Kono glanced from Danny to Steve and back again.

"'M alright," Danny stated. This was belied by his next question, "What's going on? Why are we outside?"

"Where are the paramedics? He needs oxygen!" Steve looked around as if the medics would appear out of thin air before turning back to try to reassure his partner, "Danny, you pulled the alarm, you said you smelt almonds in your office. We need to get you to the hospital."

"I'm fine," trying to prove his point the detective stood up, only to find himself overwhelmed by dizziness. He would have face planted on the sidewalk if it hadn't been for the combined efforts of Chin and Steve.

Rolling his eyes Steve spoke again, "No, Danny, you're not, you will be though." Sirens sounded down the street and an ambulance came into view, "Kono, go and direct the medics here."

Kono ran off to meet the ambulance and came back a moment later with two very familiar faces in tow.

"Andy, Jake. Danny's been exposed to cyanide gas, possibly for up to twenty minutes. He's dizzy, complaining of a headache and short of breath, as well as a bit confused."

Jake knelt next to Danny and grabbed his wrist then took his blood pressure, while Andy, knelt the other side and wasted no time in hooking him up to an IV and placing an oxygen mask over Danny's nose and mouth.

"Pulse is slow, blood pressure high," Jake shared with his partner, "Resps high. Let's get him in the back of the bus and out of these clothes."

Danny was helped over to the ambulance, the door was closed behind the medics and they assisted their patient out of his potentially contaminated clothes, revealing reddened skin. Once stripped to his boxers they settled him on the gurney and covered him with a blanket. The clothes were placed in a sealed bag.

Andy stepped out leaving Jake to monitor his condition. He found Steve standing waiting and handed the bag of clothes to him. Danny spotted him too and although confused by what was going on he knew that his partner was torn about staying at the Palace or coming to the hospital with him.  
>"Stay," he instructed.<p>

"Danny?"

"You need," he drew in some much needed oxygen, "to stay here."

"No, I need to go with my partner."

"Nothing you can do," more oxygen, "to help me except catch," another breath, "whoever caused this."

Chin and Kono had joined him at the back of the ambulance by this point, "He's got a point brah," the older detective pointed out.

Steve rubbed a hand through his hair. He wanted to so much to go with Danny, but he knew his partner was right. His place was here helping to contain the chaos, getting the offices cleared and then an investigation started, "Alright," he agreed reluctantly, "Kono, you go with him."

"No need," Danny insisted.

"Danny, we don't know what the hell is going on right now. Either Kono goes with you or I do!"

"We need to get Danny to the hospital, so whatever you're going to do, do it now!" Jake ordered, he wasn't happy with his patient's condition and they needed to get him to the hospital for a doctor to administer an antidote as soon as possible.

"OK."

"Good. I'll come to see you as soon as I can," Steve assured him, "Kono, keep me informed."

"Yes Boss," Kono replied jumping into the back of the ambulance beside Danny as Chin closed the doors.

Steve and Chin stood and watched the ambulance pulling away and hoped that their friend's exposure had been limited. Turning around they faced a scene of organised chaos. All the Palace employees were gathered out the front of the building at their designated points. The Hazmat team had just pulled up and were pointed in their direction by a member of HPD who had been tasked with keeping the employees back and enabling the people that needed access through.

-5-0-

Kono watched silently as Jake monitored Danny as they drove to the hospital. She had a grip of Danny's hand and was absentmindedly rubbing her thumb over the back of it.

Jake smiled at her in an attempt to reassure her and then picked up the radio to contact the hospital to let them know what they were coming in with.

"QMC this is paramedic 756."

"Go ahead Jake."

"We have a thirty five year old male, Detective Williams, with suspected cyanide toxicity. Patient was having difficulty breathing when we arrived on scene. Resps 43; pulse 50; BP 145/95. Latest vitals show; resps now 10; pulse 115; BP 78/52. I have a litre of saline up and he's being given 100% O2."

"Copy that Jake. Doctor Jensen is standing by."

"Five minutes out," replied Jake before turning his attention back to his patient noticing his eyes were closed, "Come on Danny, stay with me," the medic rubbed his knuckles into his patient's sternum and earned himself a glare from the man, "That's it."

The ambulance pulled up to the ER and Jake jumped out. Kono stayed back allowing him, Andy and the other medical staff that had greeted them to unload the now unconscious Danny before she climbed out and followed his gurney into the hospital.

"Jake?" asked Doctor Jensen, nodding at Kono to let her know he'd seen her.

"Steve advised that Danny has been exposed to cyanide gas for up to twenty minutes. When we arrived on scene his resps were 43 and he was short of breath and was bradycardic and hypertensive. On the way here his resps dropped to 10 and he is now tachycardic and hypotensive."

"Trauma one," instructed the Doctor on hearing the stats. His concern had increased because as cyanide poisoning progressed the symptoms changed from slow heart rate and high blood pressure to fast heart rate and low blood pressure. He gave a list of blood tests he would require in order to fully treat Danny, however if Steve said it was cyanide poisoning then he believed him so he would start the antidote treatment straightaway before his patient's condition deteriorated any further.

"Doctor Jensen, his O2 stats are dropping further," one of the nurses in the room stated.

"Bag him," instructed the doctor, not wanting to place him on a ventilator if he didn't have to. He hoped by using the bag it would increase his respiration enough until the antidote could be administered and take effect, "Get me 10ml of a 3% solution of sodium nitrite. Monitor his BP; also give him sodium thiosulfate 50ml of a 25% solution."

After thirty minutes Doctor Jensen ordered more bloods to be taken and once he confirmed Danny's vitals were stabilising and they were able to stop bagging him and place him back on oxygen; he requested that the nurse administer another half dose of both drugs.

"Doctor Jensen the blood results are back," a nurse handed him a piece of paper.

"Alright give him 1.2 ml methylene blue of a 1% solution, make sure that it's given over several minutes," Doctor Jensen instructed, "I'm going to speak to his friends, keep a close eye on his vitals, if anything changes, no matter how small, come and get me."

"Yes Doctor."

Walking out to the waiting room he was surprised to find that Kono was still the only member of the team present, it must have shown on his face when he approached.  
>"Doctor Jensen, Chin and Steve are back at the Palace trying to figure out how this happened and who might be behind it," she quickly explained, though she didn't really know why she felt she had to justify her teammate's absence, "How's Danny?"<p>

The pair sat down and Doctor Jensen made sure he was facing her, "He's still unconscious at the moment but stable. We've managed to bring his heart rate, BP and breathing to within normal range. He's been given two drugs that will counteract the cyanide however we have to be careful as one of the drugs, sodium nitrite, which removes the cyanide from the cells forms methemoglobin, which cuts down the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the tissues, this can cause problems of its own. We've added another drug which will counteract that but it's a bit of a balancing act and Danny will have to be closely monitored. I'm going to arrange for him to be transferred to the ICU and you'll be able to see him then."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"There is a chance that he could suffer some neurological problems from this but we won't know more until he regains consciousness, which will be in his own good time. I'll let you know when he's been moved so you can see him."

"Thanks Doctor Jensen," Kono managed a weak smile. After he'd disappeared behind the ER doors again she pulled out her cell to update Steve.

An hour later Kono was sitting by Danny's bed in ICU. She had been told that his vitals had gone awry again so had been given another dose of the antidotes and he would be continuously monitored for the next twenty four hours. If there were no further problems in that time he would be moved to another ward for a further twenty four hours before being released into someone's care. That's if he regained consciousness, which he was yet to do.

-5-0-

Steve and Chin had been waiting patiently outside the Palace for Hazmat to finish up in their offices when Kono rang with her first update. It wasn't the all-out positive news they'd hoped for but it wasn't all bad.

Just as Steve hung up a man appeared in front of them removing the helmet of his Hazmat suit which had just been sprayed down.

"Lieutenant Commander McGarrett?"

"That's me, you can call me Steve," he responded before introducing Chin.

"I'm Joseph Lando, I head this team. How's your man doing?"

"Stable. He's been given the medication to counteract the cyanide poisoning, now it's a case of wait and see."

"I can tell you this, he was lucky. Someone set up a booby trap of sorts. When Detective Williams pulled the blinds it was connected to a fancy set up that triggered a mixing of specific chemicals which released the gas. The level was 125 ppm, which is dangerous but luckily for Williams he could smell it. Had he been in his office another ten minutes we'd be having a different conversation. I've bagged the items that were used, they'll need to be decontaminated but I've handed them over to your forensic scientist, Charlie Fong, who can run tests on them as long as he uses precautions."

"Thanks Joseph."

"My team will finish decontaminating your offices once Charlie has finished collecting any prints or evidence but I wouldn't plan on getting back in there until later this afternoon."

"OK, thanks. We'll go over to the hospital and check on Danny then." The two men got into Steve's truck and headed to the hospital.

Entering Danny's ICU room they found Kono sitting next to the bed with her hand on the detective's.

"Hey, how is he?" Steve spoke in a quiet voice out of respect for where they were.

"They just gave him another dose of the antidotes but they hope that will be the last time," she turned weary eyes on her boss and cousin.

"You alright Cuz?"

"Not really Chin," she replied honestly and got up from beside the bed when her cousin held out his arms to her and pulled her into a hug.

Steve took up her place next to the bed, "Why don't you two go and get some lunch, I'll stay with Danny."

"Sure, do you want anything?" Chin asked, knowing that their boss needed some time with his best friend.

"Just grab me a sandwich, thanks," he watched the cousins leave the room before turning his attention back to the man in the bed, "Alright Detective Williams, enough sleeping, time to wake up and let me know you're OK," that garnered no response so he just sighed and grasped his friend's hand silently willing him to open his eyes.

Nearly an hour later movement from the bed drew Steve's eyes back from where he'd been staring out of the window at the beautiful sunny day, which was so at odds with the SEAL's mood, "Danny?" he stood up to better look at his friend's face.

"Steve?" the reply muffled through the oxygen mask that was still present.

"Yeah, come on; open your eyes for me."

"Tired."

"Well I don't see how when you've been unconscious since they brought you in," Steve smiled slightly.

Danny's eyes cracked open at that. "Brought me in?"

"You're in hospital Danno, ICU to be precise. Gave us quite a scare," he leaned forward and pushed the call button.

"Huh. What happened?" he seemed to suddenly realise that there was an oxygen mask on his face and reached up to remove it.

"No, Danny, leave that on," the familiar voice of Akela came from beside Steve. "I'll go and page Doctor Jensen and let him know you're back with us."

"What do you remember?"

Once again the patient reached up to remove the mask, but Steve's hand grasped his firmly. Danny glared at Steve but there was no heat in it given how tired and confused he was. Resigning himself to the annoying mask he tried to remember. "I got into the office. Reports to do. Made coffee…."

"Anything else?"

"It's a bit hazy," his voice gained strength the longer he was awake, "Need a drink."

"Ah, Danny, good to see you awake," Doctor Jensen came into the room, "Akela, can you please get him a drink?"

Akela obliged removing the annoying mask long enough to help the detective have a few sips of water before putting it back.

"How are you feeling Danny?"

"Tired. Headache."

"To be expected I'm afraid," the doctor picked up his chart and reviewed the vitals recorded, "You're doing much better now though so I expect that you'll start to feel better later today. Akela, let's change the mask for a nasal cannula."

As soon as the mask was removed Danny had another question, "Can I go home soon?"

"You'll be in ICU until tomorrow morning and then moved to a ward for another twenty four hours. The short answer is no. You should know the drill by now Danny; you're not getting out of here until we're sure that you're suffering from no ill effects."

"Can't blame a guy for trying. I take it that I won't be allowed to return to my apartment either."

"No," the doctor smiled.

"Figured."

"Looks like I better make your bed up again. Honestly I don't know why I bother stripping it when you're going to be back using it every few weeks!" Steve grinned cheekily.

"You still haven't told me what happened."

Steve immediately stopped grinning, "Someone released cyanide gas into your office."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Just my office?"

"It appears so. Forensics team is still going over the offices. They're being hampered a little because they have to wear hazmat suits. They can't decontaminate until all of the evidence is collected as decontamination will compromise the evidence. We can't get back in until later this afternoon."

"Almonds."

"What's that?"

"I smelt almonds."

"Yes, you did and the team leader for the Hazmat crew said it probably saved your life."

"Huh," was the only response Danny could come up with as anything else he might have said was interrupted by a wide yawn.

"Alright, that's enough chat for now. You need to get some more rest Danny."

Suddenly Danny realised there were two people missing and though he vaguely remembered Kono in the ambulance now he needed to know that they hadn't been taken ill or injured, "Chin? Kono?"

"They're both fine. You shut your office door as you left and we got out straight away so none of us were exposed," reassured Steve.

"Where are they?" It wasn't that Danny didn't believe Steve but he needed to see for himself.

"They just went to get lunch. I'll call them…" before he could make a move to do exactly that the door to the room opened.

"Danny!" exclaimed Kono, rushing over to the bed and gently pulling him into a hug.

"You OK Babe?"

"You're asking me? Aren't you the one suffering with cyanide poisoning?"

"Answer the question," Danny instructed her.

"I'm fine Danny," she squeezed his hand.

"Chin?"

"Right here brah, I'm also fine," he placed a hand on Danny's leg.

"That's good," another yawn split his face.

"OK, that's enough. Danny, get some rest," Doctor Jensen ordered.

Giving one final glance round at his three friends as if reassuring himself just once more that they were all fine, he let his eyes close and drifted off to sleep.

-5-0-

Danny breathed a sigh of relief as he finally left the hospital, even if he did have to sit in a wheelchair. His recovery had been right on schedule which meant he'd spent two days in the hospital but now he had to spend the next week at Steve's until his follow up appointment, then, and only then, would Doctor Jensen let him know if he could go back to work. Not full duty; it would just be desk work to begin with. Danny was sure that would mean the team would save their paperwork up for him.

"You OK?" Steve asked concerned. The distinct red tinge that had been on Danny's skin was now gone but he wasn't sure if his friend was really ready to be released. Although he'd never admit it the SEAL put this slight nervousness down to the fact that they'd had no leads as to who had planted the cyanide in Danny's office.

"I'm fine Steven! Stop asking me that. Doctor Jensen told you that I am ready to be released so believe him if you don't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you…"

"Look, I know you're worried about who could be behind this but keeping me in the hospital longer than is necessary won't actually make any difference to finding out who it was," Danny stated reasonably.

"I'm not worried," Steve denied, clearly a barefaced lie.

"Uh huh. Rationally concerned then."

"Alright, I'll go with that," conceded Steve helping Danny into the Camaro.

"Babe, I get it. I'm also rationally concerned but whether I'm in the hospital, at yours or the office the facts will remain the same."

"You're not going into the office!"

"You would, out of that sentence, hear that part!" Danny rolled his eyes.

"I heard you trying to persuade Doctor Jensen to let you go into the office before your check up next week!"

"I'm going to be bored!" he folded his arms across his chest and avoided, just barely, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.

"No you won't. Doctor Jensen said that you'll be tired for a while yet so you'll be busy resting!"

"Oooo exciting!" sarcasm laced the words.

"Now you're just being childish."

"Sorry."

"I know you don't like the idea of being stuck at home, especially given that it's not even your home, but you need to make the most of it. It's only a week and it could have been so much worse," Steve was avoiding saying that he could have suffered neurological damage because Danny already knew that and at his check up with the doctor this morning everyone concerned had been relieved to find that there was no mental deficit.

The rest of the journey to Steve's was quiet but it was a comfortable silence, both men just taking the time to be glad that Danny was still alive and well.

Naturally when they arrived at Steve's both Chin and Kono were there waiting. Unfortunately they now had a routine when one of the team was hurt. Steve or Danny would collect the injured party from the hospital, unless it was both of them hurt, drive to Steve's house where regardless of who had been hurt the injured party would be staying. The other team mates would get in groceries appropriate to the guest and would then wait for them to arrive from the hospital. The time between reaching Steve's and going to bed would be spent either in front of the TV or sitting out on the decking relaxing together. Food would be ordered after a lengthy discussion as to what the ill or injured person desired and the healthy team members would fuss and hover.

This time was no different; in fact Danny thought it was somewhat worse in that the hovering was more excessive than normal. He decided to put this down to the fact that, unlike previous times, they didn't know who had done this and the team had come up with nothing. There was nothing in the evidence collected to indicate who it had been, nobody for Steve to hunt down and hang off a building or dump in a shark cage.

Danny started to tire quite early on in the evening and excused himself to go to bed. All three team members were quick to ask if he was OK and to assure themselves there wasn't more to his tiredness. The detective wanted to tell them to pull themselves together but he understood their frustration and concern. He wished them all goodnight and went upstairs to bed leaving the three to carry on watching TV if they wanted. He was pretty sure nothing was keeping him awake tonight.

-5-0-

Danny woke to the sound of a phone ringing, at first he thought it was part of the dream he'd been having but quickly realised that it was actually his cell as it lit up the room and vibrated across the nightstand. Looking at the time he noticed it was only 2:30 AM.

Unable to reach it from where he was laying; he quickly sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed hoping to answer it before it woke Steve. Picking it up he answered not even checking the display in his hurry.

"Williams."

"Still breathing then Detective? That's a shame. Not quite what I had planned."

Danny's breath stuck in his throat and he pulled the cell away to look at the display but it just showed unknown number, "Who is this?"

"I'm hurt that you don't recognise my voice Daniel."

"That's Detective Williams to you!" growled Danny.

"Oh come now, that's just so formal, that isn't how friends speak to each other."

At a sound at the door Danny looked up and saw Steve in the doorway, eyes wide in question. Danny flipped his phone on to speaker.

"You're no friend of mine!"

"You wound me with your attitude Detective Williams, maybe if I'd used more cyanide we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Steve's eyes widened and he quickly stepped out of the room to grab his own cell and request HPD run a trace on Danny's.

"Well why don't you tell me where you are so I can personally thank you for screwing up."

"Who said I screwed up? Maybe I just want to have some fun."

"Fun? You have a sick sense of what is fun then!"

"Well a grenade didn't get you. A knife to the femoral artery barely slowed you down; I figured cyanide would work but if you hire boys to do a man's job…"

"Warner!"

"Ah, how astute of you Detective!" the sneer could clearly be heard in the other man's voice.

"Why?" Danny knew he needed to keep Warner on the phone for HPD to stand a chance of getting the trace.

"Why what, exactly?"

"Why are you so intent on trying to kill me?"

"Oh, it's nothing personal… Actually that's a lie, it's very personal. I lost the business that it took me years to cultivate on Oahu because of you! I've had to start again, which, let me tell you, is no fun."

"I was doing my job!"

"As I am doing mine."

"How do you work that out?"

"My job is to ensure that law enforcement get the message that they can't come after those in positions of power!"

"Not that I particularly want to put any of my team in the firing line in my place but why me as opposed to anyone else?" really Danny didn't want the answer to that question he was just buying time.

"Lieutenant Commander McGarrett is a no go for me. Not only is he head of 5-0 but he's a Navy SEAL. Go after him and I would have the Navy, HPD _and_ 5-0 after me. Detective Kelly and Officer Kalakaua have far too many family members involved in law enforcement. You, Detective Williams, have nobody but your team, killing you shows that I am powerful enough to reach someone in 5-0 without bringing the whole of the Navy and HPD down on my head."  
>Warner was clearly suffering from some sort of mental breakdown if he really thought that killing Danny wouldn't lead to reprisals, not only from HPD but from his ex-colleagues on the NJPD. He didn't hesitate to tell Warner what he thought, "You're delusional if you think that. You kill a cop then the whole force will come after you."<p>

"Oh Detective, you're just a haole, that's how they say it isn't it?"

"Give yourself up and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to prevent Commander McGarrett ditching you in shark infested waters_ after_ I've given you a nice bleeding wound to attract said sharks."

"Oh dear, look at the time. I must have woken you from your sleep. I'll let you get back to it. Be sure to have sweet dreams. Remember I'm coming for you, you won't know when or how but I'm coming!" the man gave a maniacal laugh and hung up.

Danny sat on his bed and stared at the phone. The calm he had managed to maintain while on the phone leaving him completely as he flung his phone across the room causing it to shatter when it made contact with the wall.

Steve watched helplessly not sure what he could say that would help as he held his phone to his ear waiting for HPD to advise if they'd got a location. They had. It was on the mainland, in Washington DC. He barked orders for someone to contact Metro PD and ask them to check the location and call him with the outcome.

"He won't be there," stated Danny.

"It needs to be checked out," Steve replied, entering the room and sitting next to Danny, placing an arm round his partner's trembling shoulders, "Man, you're freezing," he immediately stood up and pushed at Danny until he got him to lay down so that he could cover him, "I'm going to make you a hot drink."

Before Danny could protest Steve had vanished. Shivering from the shock of the call Danny curled into a ball and yanked the covers tight around him and promptly zoned out. He didn't notice Steve come back with a mug of tea and place it on the nightstand, didn't hear the knock on the front door as Chin and Kono arrived, didn't hear them talking softly to him trying to reassure him. Danny had completely shut down in order to process this new threat.

Steve's phone ringing about an hour after the end of the call with Warner was the first thing to penetrate Danny's fog filled mind. Lifting his eyes he met the concerned ones of Chin and Kono.

"How long have you been here?" he asked quietly.

"Almost an hour," Kono replied softly.

"Steve called and we headed straight here," Chin told him.

"Sorry."

"What for?" Steve asked coming back into the room with a fresh mug of tea.

Kono assisted Danny to sit up propping his back against pillows before passing him the tea, helping him steady it in shaking hands.

"Zoning out."

"It was a lot to take in. How are you feeling now?" concern was all that Danny could hear in his tone, no indication of ridicule as Danny had at first feared that might be.

"I'm not really sure! I don't know why but I never even considered Warner."

"None of us did."

"Metro PD call?" Danny nodded his head at the phone held in Steve's hand.

"Yeah. He was gone by the time they got to the address. The cell phone was left there."

"Figured as much."

"We'll find him Danny, I promise."

"I know," Danny gave a weak smile in Steve's direction. There was no doubt in his mind that they would find Warner eventually, the only question was would Danny live to see it happen.

"You need to rest," Kono took the empty mug from him and shifted back to allow him to shuffle down the bed. Once he was settled she pulled the covers back up around his shoulders.

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep now," Danny shrugged from under the covers.

"We can probably get you something to help," Chin suggested.

"I'd rather not."

"Chin and I are staying here for the rest of tonight. We know that Warner is in DC or at least he was, you're safe."

Steve could see that although Danny appreciated it he wasn't convinced, "I'll stay in here with you," he promised.

"OK. Thanks," it was a testament to how much the phone call had unsettled the New Jersey man that there was no sarcastic remark and that he just capitulated. Danny knew without a shadow of a doubt that with Steve in the same room, Chin and Kono also in the house, that he would feel safe and protected, which, just for tonight, was what he needed.

Tomorrow morning he would pull up his big boy pants and contact some of his friends on the mainland. Come hell or high water Shane Warner would be found and he was going to prison for what he had done, not just to Danny but to families across Hawaii who had lost loved ones because of the illegal arms that the man sold.

Tonight though, for tonight he'd allow himself to be protected and cosseted by his Ohana.

-5-0-

**A/N: My internet history would look dodgy if anyone cared to look at what I've been doing for the last week! Human sacrifice rituals; sociopaths and now cyanide poisoning! They'd lock me up and throw away the key!**


	15. O is for Obstetrician

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never will. I have now come to terms with this sad fact.**

**A/N: Thanks again for reviews and alerts. To the reviewer who asked me to write faster, I'm doing me best but I'm a bit of a perfectionist which means it takes time to get the stories right!**

**O is for Obstetrician**

This was not how Danny had intended on spending his afternoon off. His intention had been to go to the bank and then pick his daughter up from school and spend the rest of the afternoon doing whatever she wanted.

Instead he was sitting on the floor of the First Hawaiian Bank along with six other customers and five staff while four armed men wearing ski masks waved automatic weapons about. If that wasn't bad enough they'd searched the customers and discovered his gun and badge. Needless to say the armed robbers weren't thrilled at discovering that they had a member of 5-0 in their midst any more than Danny was thrilled to be there.

Everyone's cells had been removed and piled on the counter so there was no chance of calling for assistance. The bank manager was emptying the teller drawers at gunpoint, his glance falling every now and then on the dead body of the security guard that had bravely, but stupidly, tried to stop the four armed men.

Danny's hands had been cuffed behind his back and round a metal pole that ran floor to ceiling with his own handcuffs, slightly away from the other customers and bank staff. It gave him a chance to check that everyone was uninjured, with the obvious exception of the security guard.

There were three women, one who had a small child with her; he couldn't have been more than four, and two men. None had received any injuries, all having done as they were told without protest. The little boy was pressed into his mother's side, small sobs wracking his body.

At least once they were done the bank robbers would likely leave without harming anyone else since they were wearing masks and nobody could actually identify them, not even Danny. That was what he was hoping anyway. How had his day gone to hell so quickly? This time he couldn't even blame Steve!

-5-0-

Steve sat in his office half-heartedly filling out his share of the current load of outstanding paperwork. There was no case to distract him from it, no Danny ranting at him. It was with some relief that he answered his ringing cell, glad of the distraction. That feeling didn't last long when he heard the voice on the other end.

"McGarrett," he answered with his standard response when answering his cell without looking at the display.

"Uncle Steve?"

"Gracie! What's wrong?" he could hear the slight tremble in her voice.

"Is Danno there? I tried his cell but he's not answering."

"No, he's off this afternoon. He left a while ago to come get you."

"He's not here," the tremble became more pronounced.

Steve hurried out of his office waving Chin and Kono from theirs into the main area around the computer table, "Grace, I'm going to send Kono to get you, OK? I want you to stay at the school until she arrives."

"OK Uncle Steve," she was using her best trying to be brave voice.

"She won't be long Gracie," Steve tried to reassure the obviously scared child.

"OK."

"I'm going to hang up now and find Danno."

"OK."

Steve found it hard to disconnect the call but he needed to tell his team what was happening so forced himself to hang up, "Danny didn't show to get Grace and she can't get him on his cell. Kono get over the school and pick her up, bring her back here. Chin, track Danny's phone."

"Shouldn't we call Rachel?" Kono asked even as she was pulling her keys out of her pocket.

"The reason Danny was having Grace this afternoon is because Rachel is on Maui for some fund raiser with Stan," Steve informed her.

The woman nodded before jogging towards the door and pulling out her cell, the last words Steve heard were, "Gracie, it's Kono, I'm on my way…"

Turning his attention back to his remaining team member now that he knew Kono was going to Grace he waited for Chin to tell him what he'd found.

"His phone is showing up at Bishop Street," Chin brought up a map with the GPS location, "First Hawaiian Bank."

"He did say he needed to go to the bank before picking Grace up, perhaps it's just taking longer than he thought it would," Steve pressed Danny's speed dial on his cell, after several rings it went to his partner's voicemail.

"He'd answer his phone to Grace if she called even if he was in the bank," Chin pointed out unnecessarily as Steve already knew that Danny only ever ignored Grace's call if he was in the middle of a gun fight or something equally dangerous.

"Alright, let's get to the bank and see if we can locate him," decision made Steve hurried out of the offices with Chin hot on his heels.

The two men were both tense as they drove to the bank, as they drove down Bishops Street towards the corner that the bank sat on they noticed Danny's Camaro parked at the side of the road. Steve quickly pulled up next to it, not caring if he was blocking traffic. Chin hopped out and gave the car the once over but found nothing untoward. Getting back in the truck he shook his head and Steve carried on down to the corner and pulled up at the side of the road just out of view of the bank. If there was something going on in there he didn't want to alert anyone to his presence.

There was a time when Steve would have thought his reaction was a little paranoid but since starting with 5-0 and working with Danny he knew better than to dismiss this out of hand. This just wasn't how Danny behaved, nothing came before his daughter. If his partner hadn't been able to pick Grace up for any reason he'd have called Steve. That meant that something was more than likely wrong and that Danny couldn't call anyone.

Steve motioned for Chin to stay put and he casually approached the doors to the bank as if he were just a normal customer. He couldn't say he was surprised when he found the blinds down so he couldn't see in and the doors locked when he tried them. There was no notice on the door stating the bank was closed for any reason.

Re-joining Chin beside the truck he took a deep breath, "I think there's definitely something going on in there, doors locked, blinds down!"

They climbed back into the truck and Chin pulled out his cell and made a couple of phone calls as Steve was on his speaking to the Chief at HPD. Chin finished his calls first and got Steve's attention, the SEAL switched his phone to speaker, "I spoke to the head office, they don't know of any reason for the bank to be closed. They tried to contact the bank and there's no answer."

"There have been no emergency calls from the bank," the Chief stated.

"Perhaps nobody had a chance to trigger it," responded Steve rolling his eyes.

"I'll send SWAT to your location and some units to close the surrounding area off," the Chief wasn't prepared to take any chances. If McGarrett said there was something suspicious then there was.

"Thanks Chief."

"You're in charge Commander, but I want to be kept updated on the situation. I will call the Governor to let him know."

"I'll see if I can get hold of the blue prints for the building and find another way in," Chin told Steve returning to making calls while they waited for back up to arrive. Danny would be proud that the SEAL wasn't rushing in guns blazing, but even he wasn't going to do that when he had no idea what was going on inside the bank.

-5-0-

A noise from the front door had all activity in the bank stopping. The saying you could have heard a pin drop was very fitting. Danny was holding his breath hoping that nobody else was going to get hurt. A few minutes passed and when there was no further sound one of the armed men approached the doors and peered carefully out between the blinds.

"All clear," the man's gruff voice informed his cohorts.

Danny watched a very pregnant woman opposite him grimace slightly and wriggle in her position. Taking a chance he spoke softly, "Are you alright ma'am?"

"I think my water just broke!" she exclaimed.

"Shut up!" the man that seemed to be in charge of the others came and stood by Danny, "Not another word cop or I'll shoot you and leave you to bleed to death!"

"That lady needs to get out of here, her water broke!" Danny nodded his head in the woman's direction.

"I thought I told you to shut up?" the gunman didn't want to shoot the cop if he could avoid it so as a warning he struck Danny across the temple with the butt of his weapon.

"Ugh!" Danny groaned as he saw bright lights flashing as he reflexively closed his eyes. There were shouts of protest from the other people being held.

"If you want the same treatment then carry on!" the gunman warned.

Danny opened his eyes to find the room spinning slightly, but shook his head in warning at the people grouped opposite him. He didn't want anyone getting hurt because of him.

Grunting the man walked back to where four back packs had been placed once the manager had finished filling them. He signalled that the man should join his staff sitting on the floor.

"It's been a pleasure. Stay where you are and don't move until we're gone," the lead gunman instructed. He was sure that the dead security guard would be a deterrent to anyone wanting to play hero and the only person that might not be put off was handcuffed securely.

Each man threw a back pack over his shoulder before gathering at the doors. Once they were unlocked the first man started to step out but paused then turned back into the bank pushing his friends inside and locking the door again.

"What are you doing?" asked the man in charge.

"Something's wrong. Take a look," suggested the man who'd been first out the door.

The other three all stood and moved the blinds aside slightly to see the road. They had expected to see traffic and people, but there was nothing. Then they spotted a movement at the corner of one of the buildings opposite, a man in an HPD uniform briefly stuck his head round the corner before disappearing again.

"Damn! Someone must have tripped the alarm," the alpha glared at the bank staff and raised his gun, "Who was it?"

"We didn't have time…" the manager said quietly.

"The cops are out there! Someone must have done something!" he removed a 9mm from his belt and removed the safety, pointing at the manager.

The man cowered but stood his ground, "Nobody could have!"

"It's my fault," Danny piped up.

Whirling round to face the cuffed detective the alpha held the gun on him, "How?"

"I was supposed to pick up my daughter from school an hour ago. When I didn't turn up she would have contacted her uncle and he would have tracked my phone," he nodded his head towards the pile of cells.

Danny found himself on the receiving end of another blow, this time to his cheek with the 9mm, "You didn't think to mention this before?"

"I thought you'd be gone by the time it became an issue! Her uncle must have raised the alarm earlier than I thought he would have," quietly Danny thanked Super SEAL's instincts even as he waited for his vision to return to normal.

The pregnant woman gave a groan of pain drawing the man's attention away from Danny momentarily, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm in labour!" she snapped back, unable to contain her frustration at the stupid question.

"Boss, let's just get out of here!"

"They'll have the building surrounded by now," Danny warned, risking earning himself another blow to get the attention off the woman, "Get me my cell, let me call someone and try to help you out of this mess."

"No, I don't think so. You sit there and be quiet."

"At least let me help her," he indicated the woman.

"What are you a doctor now?"

"No but I watched my daughter come into this world, I can at least help make her comfortable," he pointed out as another groan was torn from her. Danny was worried as it seemed her contractions were close together and the labour was progressing quicker than he would have expected.

"You can't help her, you're cuffed," pointed out another of the men.

"Then uncuff me and let me help her!"

"I don't think so; we aren't risking you being loose!"

"Where the hell am I going to go?" Danny was losing control of his mouth which could lead to serious problems if he wasn't careful, "I've sworn to serve and protect which means I can't leave these civilians here and if I was to even try to get away I'd be dead before I got twelve feet," he was of course referring to the fact they were heavily armed and he wasn't.

The woman groaned again, holding her stomach as well as the hand of one of the other women.

"If she doesn't get help you're putting her and the baby at risk!" Danny pointed out.

"Let him help her," one of the men spoke to the alpha, "I don't want to be responsible for the death of a woman and child."

The alpha turned to Danny and pointed the 9mm at him, an evil grin crossing his face. The detective tried to control his breathing and not panic at the gleam in the man's eyes. There was a minute shift in the gun and the man pulled the trigger causing the women to scream and the little boy to burrow even closer to his mother with his hands over his ears.

-5-0-

It hadn't taken long for SWAT to roll up with their command center, closely followed by HPD who started blocking off all the roads leading to the corner of Bishops Street and South King Street.

Steve sent officers to different areas to watch the bank for any signs of movement then turned his attention to the team leader for SWAT, Lieutenant Akoni Fah, "We've got the blueprints for the building," he indicated Chin who was now sat at a computer bringing up the blueprints on the plasma of the command center.

"We can get snipers on each of the three buildings on the other corners," suggested Akoni, "That way if they make a break for it we might stand a chance of taking them out."

"OK, but I'd rather get inside and take them down before they can make it to the street," Steve stated.

The men were discussing various entries that could be used to gain access, from smashing through the front doors and using tear gas to a less obvious insertion, potentially from the roof and going down through the building. They would need to access the building next to the bank on Bishop Street. There was a parking structure that joined the two buildings; but it didn't go up to the roof of the bank so maybe the roof was out.

They could, of course, use a chopper and rappel down from that, but the noise would give the game away.

"There's no ledge in front of the windows so we can't just send a line over on a grappling hook," mused Akoni.

"We'll have to use climbing gear, perhaps hammer some spikes into the building?" Steve placed his hand over his mouth giving it serious thought.

"Hang on a minute! You want to risk trying to hammer some metal spikes into the side of a building? You don't even know that they'll go in and if they do that they'll hold your weight!" Chin felt the need to be the voice of reason since Danny wasn't here to do it. The New Jersey native would have a fit if he was listening to Steve at that moment, "Next you'll be suggesting that you put suction cups on your hands and knees to crawl up the damn building like Spiderman!"

"Hey that's a thought…"

"NO! I was kidding Steve!" Suddenly Chin had a better understanding of why Danny said that Steve would cause him to have a stroke because he increased his blood pressure so much.

"If the side of the building is smooth enough it could work though!" Steve nodded while Chin's eyes popped out of his head at what the SEAL was suggesting.

The older detective was trying to figure out a way to bring Steve back to reality when Kono bounced into the command truck.

"Hey Cuz. Where's Grace?" he asked, distracted for a moment from the task at hand.

"I called Kamekona to come and sit with her. She wanted me to be out helping look for Danny."

"Good. Perhaps you can help talk some sense into Steve!"

"Huh?"

Chin quickly filled his cousin in on what the SEAL was thinking of doing but instead of getting her to back him up he got a completely different response.

"Wow, that's cool. Can you really do that boss?"

Groaning Chin dropped into a chair and put his head in his hands in defeat. Kono had gone dark side on him. Damn he missed Danny.

Steve raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what do you mean can I do that? Of course I can'. He was about to verbalise that thought when a voice came over the radio.

"Shot fired, repeat shot fired in the bank!"

The three members of 5-0 froze, staring at each other. "We need to make contact," Chin stated, indicating the phone that they would use for negotiations.

"Chin, I want you to make the call."

"Me?"

"Yes. I'm going to be going in with SWAT and I can't start negotiations if I'm not going to be here to continue them. They'll know something is up if the negotiator changes."

"Of course you're going in with SWAT," Chin mumbled, "Fine."

They all gathered round the phone as Chin dialled the number that would connect them through to the bank.

-5-0-

If Danny could have moved he would have grabbed his lower right leg where the bullet struck but of course his hands were still behind his back.

"Bring the woman over here," the alpha pointed to an area near Danny, "Uncuff him," turning to the detective, "You won't even run twelve feet now!" he sneered.

One of the men released his hands from his cuffs, the keys for which had been found in the detective's pockets. Danny immediately flexed his wrists to get feeling back in his hands. Naturally he went to grab at his leg and stop the bleeding but a voice stopped him, "No. You can help her but you're not to touch your own wound. If the wound itself doesn't stop you doing anything stupid the eventual blood loss will!"

The woman was lowered to the ground near Danny and he dragged himself over to her, "Hi, my name's Danny, what's yours?"

"Kailani."

"How far along are you Kailani?"

"I'm not due for another three weeks," she gritted her teeth as another contraction ripped through her.

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"Two minutes," Kailani replied once the contraction had passed.

"Is this your first baby?"

"Yeah, didn't plan on having the baby in a bank!"

"Maybe they'll donate some money to start a college fund," quipped Danny trying desperately to make the woman relax for a moment between her contractions.

"Ha. Maybe. So have you done this before?"

"Delivered a baby? No," he replied honestly, "But I watched my daughter being brought into this world. She's eight now."

Another contraction gripped Kailani and she grabbed hold of Danny's hand as she breathed through the pain just as they had shown her at the class she'd taken with her husband.

"Kailani, I'm going to need to see," Danny indicated her skirt, blushing slightly but this was really no time for him to be coy.

"I know," she whispered her own cheeks flushed already from the exertion.

"Have you got any blankets anywhere?" Danny asked the bank manager.

"Yes, we have several as part of an emergency kit."

"I'm going to need it," the detective looked at the alpha who nodded at one of his men. The bank manager was pulled to his feet and taken to collect the emergency kit. A few minutes later he was back and placed the bag and blankets next to Danny before being pushed back with the others.

Danny immediately opened a couple of the blankets and laid them out on the floor, he then helped Kailani to move so she was laying on them. Opening the first aid kit he pulled out some latex gloves and put them on. "I'm going to need some help."

"No."

"Look I need someone to prop her up when it's time for her to push."

Giving a long suffering sigh the man indicated that one of the women should come over. Kneeling beside Kailani she introduced herself, "I'm Olina."

"Olina, can you please help Kailani with her underwear?" Danny asked respectfully. He was going to have no choice but to look under this woman's skirt but he wanted to make it as easy for her as possible.

Once Kailani was settled with her underwear gone and her skirt pulled up to her knees Olina settled behind her so that Kailani could rest back against her.

"I'm going to take a look now Kailani," receiving a nod Danny lifted her skirt as discreetly as he could so that only he could see what was happening, "OK, no sign of the baby's crown yet." Danny took the opportunity to go through the first aid bag and sort out what he'd need. There were packs of sterile gauze that he would need to clean the baby's mouth and nose. A pair of scissors if he needed to cut the umbilical cord, but he was really hoping that these guys would let the woman go before he truly had to deliver the baby.

Just then the phone rang through the bank. Danny waited as he watched the alpha approach but still watching Kailani closely.

"What?" barked the alpha into the phone.

"My name is Chin, who am I speaking to?" the voice on the other end was calm.

"The man in charge."

"What should I call you?"

"Bob," the man gave the first name that wasn't his that popped into his head.

"Alright Bob, is anyone hurt? We heard a gunshot."

"Everyone's fine."  
>"Can I speak to someone to verify that?"<p>

The other woman was pulled to her feet, the little boy with her still clinging to her as she was pushed towards 'Bob', "Tell him everyone's fine," he pressed a button on the phone to put it on speaker so he could hear.

"Hello. We're fine," she wanted to tell them about the man that was bleeding from a gunshot wound but the same gun used to do that was pointing at her. She glanced at Danny who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

"How many of you are there?"

"Twelve. Including a pregnant woman in labour and my four year old son," the woman quickly supplied.

"That's enough!" 'Bob' shoved the woman back towards the others, "I want you to pull all the police back and get me a helicopter. You've got an hour or I put a bullet in one of the hostages," he hung up the phone.

Danny had recognised Chin's voice. That meant that Steve was no doubt contemplating a SEAL type rescue, he just hoped it was sooner rather than later. Another cry from Kailani brought his attention back to the woman before him.

-5-0-

"Did she say that there's a pregnant woman in labour in there?" Kono asked.

"Yes, she did. Along with eleven other hostages," Chin confirmed.

"An hour doesn't give us much time, whatever we're going to do, we need to do it soon," Akoni pointed out.

"I had hoped they'd let us speak to Danny," Steve sighed, wondering if his friend had been shot. He didn't trust that everyone was fine, the woman on the other end of the line had, in all likelihood, had a gun shoved in her face and was told to say nobody was hurt, "Come on, we're going to try to get into the building from the one next door."

"Steve…"

"It's the only way Chin."

"I know, just be careful."

"I will. Kono, stay here with Chin. If there's a need to go in the front I want you both here to control things."

"Got it Boss," although she didn't like not going with Steve she knew he'd feel better if she and Chin were on the ground in case his plan failed.

Akoni, Steve and two other SWAT officers made their way round to the building next door to the bank. It took longer as they had to go a back way to ensure they weren't seen. They climbed the seven floors to the top of the building and then ran across the top of the parking structure joining the two buildings. There was a tower with no windows that separated the parking lot from the building that housed the bank. Checking the construction they had a quick discussion about which method they would use and decided to try spikes.

Akoni passed one to Steve and he hammered it into place, it seemed the sound was deadened by the material the spike was being inserted into since it barely made a sound. Once there were four in place Steve donned a harness and rope then grabbed a hold and pulled himself onto the spikes, he clipped the rope to the one his left hand was holding onto and then using the fact he was secured to that spike he reached out and hammered in another one.

He kept going until he had made it across the width of the tower and was at the window. Steve made sure he was secured before freeing both his hands and reaching into the pockets of his cargoes where he'd stashed a glass cutter. He used it to cut a large hole in the glass to enable him to climb through. Akoni and his two officers followed using the line that Steve had secured.

Huddled together inside the empty office they quickly headed out. HPD had been unable to evacuate the building the bank was in without alerting the armed robbers and now that they knew the police were on scene they didn't want to make the people in the building targets as they were evacuated so a call had been made and the management had quietly moved everyone to the top floor.

"Chin, we're in," Steve spoke over his mic.

"You've got twenty minutes before the deadline," Chin reminded his boss.

"Copy that." Steve signalled the other three men with him to follow him to the stairs and the ground floor.

Outside Kono had led a team of another three SWAT officers to wait at the side of the building out of sight. If Steve needed back up, it wouldn't be far away.

-5-0-

"OK Kailani, I can see the head. You need to push now," Danny told the woman whose baby he was trying to deliver. He was also trying to sound like he knew what he was doing, even if he really didn't. The last thing the woman need was for him to freak out!

"Come on Kailani," Olina encouraged from her position behind, both her hands in each of Kailani's.

"That's it, keep pushing, you're nearly there," if Danny felt out of his depth it didn't show in his voice.

The contraction passed and Kailani collapsed back against Olina panting. Sweat was dripping off her hair and running down her red face, "I'm so tired."

"I know you are, but not long and you'll be holding your baby in your arms and all of this will seem like a distant memory," he smiled at her, remembering how Rachel had gone from a screaming, sweating, banshee as she pushed their daughter out, to a puddle of molten goo as she held Grace for the first time. She was still sweaty but all her attention was focused on that tiny bundle in her arms.

"Easy for you to say!" she retorted.

"Yeah, it is, but I'm gonna get you through this."

"Arrgghh, here comes another one!"

"OK, push. Come on, keep pushing…" Danny placed his hands so that as the baby eased its way out the head slid slowly into his supporting hands, "That's it, heads out, you need to stop pushing," he grabbed the sterile swabs and held the packet for Olina to open, once it was he reached in and pulled out the gauze and cleaned the baby's nose and mouth to clean away the fluid from its airway. Once this was done he placed his hands to guide the shoulders out and then the baby was held completely in his hands. There was silence for a brief moment and then the baby screamed long and loud, announcing its arrival.

Danny grinned at Kailani and Olina, "You have a beautiful baby girl," he wrapped the baby in one of the remaining blankets and handed her to her Mom while he waited for the placenta which he knew was still to come. Danny had purposely not cut the cord as he had nothing to tie it off with.

Kailani looked at her baby with tears pouring down her sweat streaked face and smiled the same kind of smile Danny had seen on Rachel's face as she looked at Grace. His own eyes glistened with tears. "Thank you," Kailani said as she looked at the man that had safely delivered her baby, gratitude shining through the smile she gave him.

Once the placenta was delivered and he had shifted it so that Kailani could lay down with the baby without the umbilical cord getting caught or pulling, he laid a blanket over her, "We'll get you out of here and to hospital soon."

Danny removed the gloves he had been wearing and changed position, he was then reminded of the fact that he had a gunshot wound in his leg and hissed at the pain moving had caused. Looking down he noticed a significant amount of blood. Not enough to kill him, at least not yet, but the wound was still bleeding. Really it needed to be bandaged. Looking at the first aid kit next to him and to 'Bob' he started to reach for some gauze to press against it.

"No!" 'Bob' snarled, taking the bag out of reach, "Cuff him again."

One of the men approached Danny and that's when Steve made his move.

-5-0-

Steve, Akoni and the two SWAT officers were standing outside the door that entered into the bank on the ground floor. It seemed that their robbers had overlooked the fact that the door was there as it was unlocked.

Opening it so that they could see in, Steve saw his partner on the floor near two women and several feet away, on the opposite side of the space, were nine others including the little boy. Steve could see that there were four men armed with automatic weapons as well as a 9mm that the one nearest Danny was waving around.

The SEAL signalled for Akoni and one of his officers to get to the counter that all the armed men had their backs to so that they could get round the other side of the room. Nodding in agreement the two men quietly slipped out. When they reached the other end of the counter they waited for Steve's signal.

Steve heard the man order Danny to be cuffed again and he knew that having Danny free to help would give them an even better chance so he quietly slid into the room with the other SWAT officer beside him and then signalled to Akoni.

"5-0 drop your weapons!" shouted Steve, taking aim at the man who had ordered Danny to be cuffed.

"HPD drop your weapons!" shouted out the three SWAT members at the same time, each taking aim at one of the armed men.

Danny recognising his partner as he saw him slipping out the door out of the corner of his eye instinctively moved closer to the two women nearest him, putting himself between them and the weapons.

Assessing their situation quickly the armed robbers quickly realised they'd been out manoeuvred and dropped their weapons. Danny wouldn't say he was disappointed that there hadn't been any need for Steve to shoot 'Bob' as it meant no innocent bystanders were in the line of fire, but he would have liked to have seen the man with an extra hole somewhere on his body if he was being honest.

"We're clear, repeat, we're clear," Steve spoke into his mic as he covered the SWAT officers as they secured their prisoners before going and opening the front door to allow others in to assist with the removal of the robbers and the hostages.

Having made sure that he'd done his job Steve now felt he could check on his partner, "Danny!"

"Steve, we need an ambulance."

"Are you OK?" he could already see the cuts across Danny's temple and cheek where he'd been struck.

"I'm fine Super SEAL. Kailani and her new baby need to go to the hospital to be checked out," he moved slightly to reveal the women behind him, neatly covering up his bleeding right calf. Any blood on the floor near Kailani would likely be assumed as being hers.

"Chin, can you get the EMTs in here please. We have a woman and a new born that need to go to the hospital." Steve called over his mic as he knelt down next to Kailani to take a peek at the bundle wrapped in her arms, "She's beautiful."

"Thank you," Kailani replied looking into his kind eyes. She glanced at Danny who was talking to Olina and making sure she was alright, "Danny needs the hospital," she almost whispered, "One of the men shot him in the leg to stop him from running if he let him help me."

Steve wasn't sure how he managed to not start yelling at his partner, but he kept calm so as not to frighten the sleeping infant. Instead he got up from where he knelt and moved back to his partner's side just as Chin and Kono, with a pair of their favourite EMTs in tow, finally made it through the door after the robbers and other hostages had been removed.

"Let me see."

"Huh?"

"Danny do _not_ play dumb with me. Kailani told me that you've been shot, so let me see."

"It's just a flesh wound," Danny looked over his shoulder at the woman and she gave him an innocent smile before turning her attention back to her baby.

"I don't care if it's the tiniest scratch and requires a magnifying glass for me to see it. Show. Me," growled Steve. Sighing Danny moved so that his left leg was no longer covering his right calf, "Danny! That's not a flesh wound. There's no exit wound which means the bullet is still in there."

"It's fine."

"It's been bleeding since he was shot," Olina pointed out helpfully as she was ushered out of the building by Akoni.

"Andy, you take care of Kailani and her baby, I'll go and see what Danny's got himself into this time," Jake told his partner. Moving over next to Steve he shook his head as he saw the bullet hole, "Really Danny?"

"What? All I wanted was to pay some money into Grace's savings account…." At his daughter's name his eyes found Steve's again.

"She's fine. Kono picked her up from school and Kamekona is at the Palace with her," Steve assured his partner as Jake cut open Danny's pants and inspected the wound.

"OK, I'm going to put a pressure dressing on to help stop the bleeding and then we're taking you to Queens," Jake informed him.

"Do you need me to request a second ambulance?" Steve asked.

"As long as Kailani doesn't mind sharing, Danny can sit in one of the chairs as we transport her."

"I don't mind," Kailani told Jake as Andy settled her on the gurney, "He did deliver my baby after all."

Andy and Jake exchanged looks of amazement at this before turning them on Danny, "You delivered a baby?"

"Yes," Danny figured he was going to be asked that question a lot as more people found out what had happened.

"Well, OK then. Are you thinking of changing career?" Jake grinned at him.

"Hmm, it would mean I'd get shot at less…" Danny chuckled at his partner as he glared at him.

"Chin, Steve, do you think you can help Danny out to the bus while I help Andy with Kailani? He shouldn't put any weight on that leg!" instructed Jake.

Both men stepped up to either side of their friend and reached down to hook their hands under his armpits to get him to his feet, well foot since he could only use his left. They looped their hands around his waist and each took an arm over their shoulders, which of course meant Steve had to stoop considerably, then the three made their way slowly out to the ambulance and deposited Danny in the back and into the capable hands of Jake.

"We'll see you at the hospital," Steve assured his partner, "I'll get Kono to collect Grace."

"Thanks," Danny smiled. The doors were closed but he still couldn't let the façade drop as he didn't want to upset Kailani.

Jake knew his patient well and could see the pain lines starting to form. Without a word he slipped an IV into the back of Danny's hand, hung a bag of saline and administered some morphine, "You don't need to put a brave face on now you know."

"I'm OK Jake, just wasn't the afternoon I was expecting!"

"That makes two of us," Kailani stated, "I need to get hold of my husband and tell him what's happened. He missed out on seeing our little girl being born," she said sadly.

"He'll understand. Not like you could control it," Danny squeezed her hand gently.

The ambulance pulled up outside Queens, Kailani and the baby were unloaded first and then Danny was helped out and lowered into a wheelchair.

Once settled onto a gurney in an ER trauma cubicle Doctor Jensen arrived, not exactly happy to see Danny back in the ER, again!

"I think I'm going to get a room in ER named just for you Danny!"

"Hey, come on, it's not like I'm the only member of 5-0 to land in here regularly!" protested Danny.

"Fine, we'll get a room dedicated to 5-0, with a full time staff!" Doctor Jensen removed the bandage from the wound, "This needs to be cleaned thoroughly, as well as the wounds on his temple and cheek please," he instructed Nurse Eve who had followed him in, "Also need an x-ray to make sure the bullet didn't impact the bone and break it." Doctor Jensen then proceeded to give Danny a thorough exam to make sure that the blows he'd received hadn't caused a concussion.

"Yes Doctor," Eve smiled at Danny before arranging for him to be taken to x-ray.

-5-0-

"Danno delivered a baby?" Grace asked Kono for probably the tenth time since she'd picked her up from the Palace.

"Yes," she replied, giving up on saying any more.

"So why is he in hospital?" she wanted to know.

"Steve, I'll let you handle this," Kono said to her boss as he returned to the waiting area with a drink for Grace.

"What's that?"

"Grace wants to know why Danny is in the hospital."

"You didn't tell her?" Steve's eyebrow shot up.

"I tried, but she kind of latched on to the fact that he delivered a baby!" shrugged Kono.

Steve sat down and pulled Grace on to his lap, "One of the men that was robbing the bank hurt Danno so he needs to be checked out."

"Oh, OK. He's alright though?"

"He's going to be fine. Doctor Jensen is looking at him right now."

"OK. Uncle Steve?"

"Yes Gracie?"

"Did he really deliver a baby?"

"Yes, he did. I'm sure when he's feeling better he'll tell you all about it."

"Ewww, no. That's gross. I don't want him to tell me about it!"

Steve shook his head and hoped that Doctor Jensen wouldn't need to keep his partner long since Grace was being a little more difficult than usual.

-5-0-

Doctor Jensen stepped out into the waiting room to find the rest of 5-0 waiting for him. "Afternoon," he greeted them all, waving them back into their seats as he sat down with them, Kono chose that moment to take Grace to get something to eat so the doctor could speak freely, "Danny is fine. He has a wound on his temple and cheek but neither needed stitching, just some butterfly strips. The x-ray on his leg came back, there were no broken bones. The bullet struck the calf muscle. I removed the bullet and stitched him up."

"No operation?"

"Nope, it wasn't necessary. The bullet hadn't penetrated deep enough and a local anaesthetic to the area was sufficient. He did lose a good amount of blood so we're giving him a transfusion. Once that's complete he can go home, but he will have to use crutches for a couple of weeks to avoid pulling the stitches. You can go and sit with him while the blood transfusion runs its course if you like."

"Thanks Doctor Jensen," Steve smiled gratefully, glad that Danny was going to be allowed home, even if that meant his place.

When Kono and Grace returned they all trooped through to Danny's cubicle to sit with him and found him fast asleep.

"Chin, can you swing by Danny's place and pick up some things for him and Grace? Danny will be staying with me for a couple of weeks and since Grace is staying with him…"

"Yeah sure boss. Grace, would you like to come with me?"

"I want to stay here with Danno."

"I'll come with you Cuz."

"See you at your place for dinner then Steve?"

"Yeah, OK. Pick up some steaks and I'll throw them on the grill."

Grinning at the prospect Chin and Kono left. Steve and Grace settled in a chair next to the bed and waited for Danny to be ready to leave.

An hour or so later a groan from the man in the bed alerted his visitors to the fact he was waking up.

Steve placed Grace on the bed and stood up, "Come on Danno, time to wake up!"

"Ugh. Who allowed the party in my head?" Danny groaned as he opened his eyes.

"That bad huh? I'll track down Doctor Jensen and ask him for something to help with that."

Danny smiled gratefully as Steve left the room, "So Monkey, are you OK?"

"Yeah. You're OK, so I'm OK," she smiled at her Dad.

Steve returned with some pills and a cup of water, "Here you go, this should help with your head," he waited as Danny took them before speaking again, "I bumped into someone outside and they'd like to see you. Are you up for another couple of visitors?"

"Uh, sure," Danny replied, not really sure who it could be.

Steve pulled back the curtain to reveal Kailani in a wheelchair, her baby in her arms and a tall, handsome Hawaiian man pushing the chair.

"Danny, I want you to meet my husband, Liko. Liko, this is Danny, he delivered your daughter."

Liko stepped around the wheelchair and reached out to shake Danny's hand, "Thank you doesn't seem quite enough."

"It's more than enough and you're welcome," Danny shook the other man's hand and smiled, "This is my daughter, Grace and my boss Steve McGarrett."

Liko and Kailani shook hands with Steve and even with Grace, who smiled shyly. Liko reached down to take the baby from his wife, "Would you like to hold her?"

"I would love to," Danny replied as Steve adjusted the head of the bed for him to help him sit up further. The detective ignored the dizzy spell and focused on the tiny bundle he was being passed.

Grace leaned over and peered at the face poking out from the blanket, "She's all wrinkled!"

"Grace!" Danny reprimanded his daughter.

The others chuckled and Kailani agreed, "She is a little."

"So were you when you were born Monkey and you were still the most beautiful thing in the world as far as I was concerned!"

"Have you given her a name yet?" Steve asked.

"Actually we wanted to talk to you about that Danny," Liko said.

"Oh?" he couldn't fathom why they'd need to speak to him.

"We would like to give her a middle name that honours the man that delivered her," Kailani told him.

"You don't have to do that!"

"We know, but we'd like to. Her middle name would be Danielle."

"If that is what you would like her middle name to be then it's I who would be honoured," the New Jersey man blushed.

"Then that's settled. Danny, meet Maylea Danielle."

"That's a beautiful name. Nice to meet you Maylea," Danny smiled down at the bundle as she opened her eyes, "I hope you'll stay in touch and let me know how's she's doing?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Kailani said, "you're part of our Ohana now Danny."

Steve reached over to the table where Danny's wallet had been put, opened it and pulled out one of his cards for him, "All his contact information is on there, with the exception of his home address of course!"

"Now it's time for us to get this little one back to the nursery, we promised we wouldn't be long. They want to keep Kailani and Maylea overnight just to be safe."

Danny handed the little girl back to her parents and wished them well. A sense of wistfulness came over him after they left. He would have loved to have more children. It had to be the hardest but most satisfying job in the world. Grace sensed her father's mood and moved up the bed to envelope him in a hug like only she could provide.

"Love you Danno."

"Love you more Monkey."

-5-0-

**A/N: OK, maybe I should have put a warning at the top that you might need to clean your teeth after the end of this chapter to remove the high level of sugar! Who can resist a cute baby and naturally she would have to have a name to honour the man who had delivered her, right? What do you mean that's just sappy? That's fan fic for ya!**


	16. P is for Pineapple

**DISCLAIMER: I really don't need to repeat myself do I? I do? OK, I don't own Hawaii 5-0 or the characters.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing, reading and alerting. You make a dull day that much more enjoyable. A reminder that I am NOT a medical professional!**

**P is for Pineapple**

Steve pulled up outside Danny's apartment building and climbed out of his truck. His feet had barely touched the asphalt when he was met by the whirlwind known as Grace Williams.

"Uncle Steve!" the eight year old threw her arms around his waist and squeezed.

"Hey Gracie," laughed Steve as he swung his 'niece' up into his arms.

"Monkey, get back here and take your back pack please," Grace's father called after her.

"You better do as Danno says," Steve told her as she rolled her eyes and he lowered her back to the ground.

Skipping back to the door of the apartment she took the back pack her father was holding out to her before joining Steve at the truck again. Shaking his head Danny grabbed his own pack and locked up his apartment before walking over to the truck and greeting his partner.

"Morning Steve."

"Danny, got everything you need?"

"Yes Super SEAL. I'm a father, I know how to pack my share of a picnic!" retorted Danny.

"Let's go get Chin and Kono then," he helped Grace into the back and made sure she was strapped in as Danny climbed into the front passenger seat.

"This was a great idea Uncle Steve!" Grace enthused as they set off.

"It was Danno's idea," he reminded her.

Turning slightly in his seat so he could see his daughter Danny said, "It was my idea for a team picnic with you, but Uncle Steve chose the location for it."

"You'll love it Grace. The plateau looks out over a valley and you can just make out the sea in the distance. There's lots of wildlife to see as well."

"As long as we don't meet any wild boars," mumbled Danny.

"I'll protect ya Danno!" Steve grinned at his partner.

"Oh, I feel so much better now, thanks Super SEAL!"

Any further bickering was cut short when they arrived at Kono's house to get her and Chin. Both came out of the door with back packs in hand. They dropped these in the bed of the truck and climbed in the back next to a still very excited Grace. She had been practically bouncing off the walls of Rachel and Stan's mansion when Danny had collected her, along with her back pack full of goodies, that morning.

Grace was getting to spend an extra weekend with her Danno as well as Uncle Steve, Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono. They were going into the hills for a picnic today and then tomorrow Auntie Kono had promised that she would take her surfing. Of course her Danno had huffed and puffed at that but all Grace had needed to do was turn her big brown eyes to him and wobble her bottom lip a little and he caved!

Forty minutes later, which had been filled with Grace's happy chatter, they reached the end of a single track dirt road; the term road was used loosely in Danny's mind since he'd seen wider sidewalks in New Jersey. Steve parked the truck and got out, stretching as he did. The others also piled out and everyone grabbed their own packs.

"The area we're gonna eat at is only about five minutes that way," Steve pointed at a small path going up a slight incline between some trees, "Once we've eaten and rested there's a trail that we can hike that runs along the ridge."

The group set off with Steve in the lead, Danny and Grace in the middle with Chin and Kono bringing up the rear. When they reached the end of the short path they stepped out from the trees on to a flat plateau and even Danny had to admit the view was spectacular. The valley ran for a few miles below them and opposite were two more peaks and in between those the shimmering of the sea could just be seen in the distance.

"Wow!" Grace said all that needed to be said.

Steve grinned from ear to ear at the reactions of his partner and 'niece', "Who's hungry?" he asked, breaking the spell.

"Yeah, come on let's see what these packs hold," Kono agreed wholeheartedly.

Danny opened his large pack and removed a blanket which he spread on the ground under the shade of some trees with Grace's help. They then all settled on it and emptied the contents of their back packs. There were various sandwiches, chips, chicken drumsticks and salads, along with various fruits that had been cut up and some cookies that Grace had made with Rachel. By the time all the food was spread out there actually looked like there was enough to feed a football team.

"Do you think we might have gone over the top?" Kono laughed.

"Nah, with the cool packs we're using anything we don't eat can go in the fridge and will be fine for lunch tomorrow," replied Danny, though he was also grinning at the amount of food.

Each of them also pulled a cold bottle of water from their packs, though Grace had a bottle of freshly squeezed juice that her Mom's housekeeper had given her before she left. The next hour passed by with lots of laughter and teasing as the food was devoured by the hungry group. Once sure they'd had their fill they packed the bags with the leftovers and stretched out to relax for a while. They'd decided that once they had rested they would return the packs to the truck and then go for their hike, taking only a bottle of water each. Steve had left a cool box in the back of the truck and it was filled with bottles that they could use.

Danny sat with his back against a tree, his daughter sprawled next to him, her head in his lap. The team just listened to the birds and the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees. Danny wasn't used to this silence, but being here with his little girl he felt the most relaxed he had been in a long time.

"Danno."

"Yes Monkey."

"I need to go."

"Go?" he looked down at his daughter not realising what she meant until she raised her eyebrow in a perfect imitation of him, "Oh, you mean _go_!" The 'duh' look that he received reminded him strongly of his ex-wife.

"I'll take her Danny," volunteered Kono.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I could do with _going _too!" she grinned at him as he rolled his eyes.

Grace got up from next to her Dad and took hold of Kono's hand and the pair disappeared off into the tree line.

Danny stretched and yawned, which turned out to be a mistake as one of the small flying insects that had made the area their home flew into his mouth, causing him to spit it back out and start coughing. His eyes were watering as he tried to fumble for his drink.

Steve had sat up the moment he heard Danny coughing and hurried to his side and grabbed one of the bottles of drink next to his partner, undoing the lid he passed it over and watched as Danny gratefully took a long drink. As the coughing subsided Danny wiped his eyes and looked at the bottle in his hand. It wasn't his, it was Grace's. Well that explained why his water tasted like fruit!

"Thanks," he said to Steve who just raised an eyebrow in question, "I'm fine now," he assured his hovering partner. Nodding Steve returned to where he had been sitting before.

Danny rested his head back on the tree and closed his eyes, before long he felt the ominous and all too familiar tingling in his lips as well as itchy skin. Opening his eyes and looking at his arms he noticed that he had hives starting to show. _Crap!_

Grace returned and sat down next to Danny noticing him checking his arms, she too saw the red bumps, bumps that she'd only ever seen once before.

"Danno?" she asked softly.

"Grace, did your juice have pineapple in?"

"I'm not sure, I think so. Kali normally makes it with orange, mango and pineapple," her eyes widening in realisation of what this could mean.

"Can you get my pen out of the front pocket of my back pack?" he asked her as the itching spread across his chest and the tingling sensation increased. Danny was pretty sure his tongue was starting to swell as well.

She scurried to the corner of the blanket where all the packs had been left out of the sun and found her father's. Opening the zipped up front pocket she retrieved what he'd asked for and returned to his side. Her hurried movements had drawn the attention of the other three adults.

Danny took the pen from her but knew that his jeans were too thick to be able to effectively administer the epinephrine in the pen so he quickly undid his pants and pushed them down, now beyond caring that he was practically undressing in front of Kono. Not even pausing he plunged the pen into his thigh and then rubbed the area just as he had been shown.

"Danny?" Steve was kneeling next to him and Grace.

"He can't talk when he has an attack Uncle Steve. The pen should help."

"Attack? Grace what are you talking about?"

"Danno's allergic to pineapples and he drank some of my juice which had pineapple in it," her eyes filled with tears at the thought her juice had caused this.

"Not your fault," Danny reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Anaphylaxis?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," murmured Danny relieved to feel the itchiness fade and the tingling reduce.

"OK, let's get you lying down. Chin, can you bring over my back pack," the SEAL did what he always did in a crisis, took control. In no time at all he had his best friend on his back on the blanket with his legs elevated by resting them on Steve's pack. He reached for Danny's wrist and took his pulse which he found to be more rapid and irregular than he'd like. He kept his fingers there and watched for signs that the epinephrine was working.

Danny felt uncomfortable under the close scrutiny of his friends and daughter but was too lightheaded to really do much about it. Although the tingling and itching had lessened his tongue still felt swollen, "Don't think it worked," his voice was hoarse.

"Are you having problems breathing?" asked Steve, concerned at the fact his partner couldn't talk properly.

"Some."

"Chin, we need a medevac. If you go up to that ridge," he pointed to their right, "You should be able to get a cell signal."

"Got it," Chin ran off in the direction Steve had pointed.

"Is he going to be alright?" Grace asked, scared that the medicine her Dad had taken didn't seem to be helping as much as it should have.

"He'll be fine Gracie. Why don't you and Kono take the rest of the packs down to my truck so we can drive to the hospital as soon as the medevac arrives," Steve wanted to suggest something to distract the little girl. He handed Kono the keys to his truck and she got the message from his look to keep Grace there.

The two gathered the four remaining packs and headed back to the truck. Once Steve was sure they were out of earshot he turned back to Danny, "How bad?"

"Bad," the response was more of a wheeze than a word now.

"Do you have another epi pen?"

"No, never needed another," Danny managed to push the words out.

Chin reappeared back in the clearing, "Medevac will be here in twenty minutes."

"I don't think we have that long," Steve looked up at Chin, "Run to the truck and grab my first aid kit out of the locker," the older man didn't question the orders and just took off towards the truck, "Danny, I need you to listen to me, OK?"

Danny's breathing was becoming more and more laboured as his tongue and now throat continued to swell, he had heard Chin and knew he would be stopping breathing before the medevac could get to them. He turned frightened pale blue eyes on the man he considered a brother and nodded.

"I want to perform a Cricothyroidotomy," he watched Danny's eyes almost pop out of his head; "I'll make an incision in your neck and put in an airway. I know that sounds scary but I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it was necessary. We both know that the medevac is too far out and that you'll stop breathing before it gets here. CPR won't be any good because your throat is swelling closed," Steve wasn't pulling any punches, he needed his friend to understand the seriousness of their situation, "I need you to trust me."

"I do," Danny managed to assure Steve, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it.

"I've got no anaesthetic," the SEAL had a top notch kit but even he didn't have anaesthetic drugs or strong pain relief that he could give. Danny nodded in understanding, no longer able to speak.

Chin entered the clearing again with Steve's first aid kit in hand. He quickly explained to the older man what he was going to do. Danny had to give the man credit, he didn't even flinch but then again it wasn't going to be _his_throat that Super SEAL was going to be holding a scalpel to.

Steve unzipped his kit and started to pull out what he'd need, placing it on the blanket next to Danny, latex gloves; sterile sponges; scalpel; antiseptic wipes; a hemostat and lastly an airway tube. The airway wasn't ideal but it would do in a pinch and once the medevac arrived they could swap it for the proper tube.

"Chin, I need you to hold Danny's head still, put your knees either side," instructed Steve as he pulled on a pair of gloves and wiped some antiseptic wipes over Danny's neck before pulling out one of the sterile sponges and laying it on its packaging. The detective hadn't taken his eyes off his partner since he'd told him what he was going to do but his vision was starting to go dark at the edges from the lack of oxygen. Part of Danny thought this was probably a blessing because he didn't want to be conscious when a scalpel was stuck in his neck.

Once Steve was ready he adjusted Danny's head so his neck was extended and made sure that Chin had a firm grip then he looked at his partner, "I'm gonna get you through this," the man laying prone on the blanket merely blinked slowly in acknowledgement as Steve knelt to his side and placed his finger on the front of his neck and found the notch in the upper border of the thyroid cartilage, he felt for the depression below between the thyroid and the cricoid cartilages to find the cricothyroid membrane. He knew his anatomy, he'd taken the advanced medical training, but it was one thing to do the theory and another to do it in practice on his brother.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Danny needed him calm, he made a vertical incision in the midline. Chin had a firm hold of Danny's hands, both to let him know that he was there and to prevent him from grabbing at Steve when he made the cut. Chin felt his friend's body and hands tense then they went lax, he exchanged relieved looks with Steve, both men grateful that he'd passed out and wouldn't have to endure any further pain. Steve used the sterile sponge to clear away the small amount of blood that had formed so that he could see what he was doing. Using the hemostats he spread the wound open so that he could actually see the cricothyroid membrane and then made a horizontal incision through it. Gently he opened the hemostats to keep the incision open and he slid the airway tube into the wound. Holding his own breath he waited for a moment before hearing the slight hiss of air being pushed out and pulled in through the small hole. The SEAL knew it wasn't enough long-term, Danny needed a proper endotracheal tube which could be directly attached to a flow of oxygen, but it had brought them some precious time. Steve removed his gloves and pulled an emergency blanket out of the kit and laid it over the still unconscious man.

Chin and Steve had been carefully watching Danny while they waited for the medevac, both were relieved that somehow Kono had managed to keep Grace away. Danny would have had a fit if his daughter had seen the procedure that Steve had carried out on him. It was a relief after nearly ten minutes to hear the chopper approaching. Steve stood up and rushed out into the center of the clearing to make sure they were spotted. The chopper hovered as a woman was lowered with a litter and then it moved off slightly.

The woman jogged over to Steve, "Hi, I'm Jess Donovan. I hear you've got a man suffering with anaphylaxis."

"Steve McGarrett, yes, that's right. I had to perform a Cricothyroidotomy. His throat had swollen shut despite using his epi pen. I didn't have the proper tube but we made do with what we had," he showed Jess over to where Danny was laying.

Quickly Jess assessed her patient, noting the rapid pulse, low blood pressure and O2 stats. Opening her med kit she pulled out a pen identical to the one Danny had used earlier. Steve helped her lower his friend's pants and she injected it into his thigh. Next she inserted two IV cannulas into the backs of Danny's hands and immediately connected a bag of saline to each, opening them both wide to try to stabilise his pressure. Jess then carefully removed the airway tube that Steve had used and replaced it with an endotracheal tube, inflated the cuff to secure it internally and taped the tube to his neck, she then attached a bag to the tube and started squeezing it in the rhythm that Danny should be breathing. "Are you coming with us?" she asked Steve.

He glanced at Chin, "You'd better brah, if Danny regains consciousness on the chopper he needs to see a familiar face," noticing the doubt on his boss' face he tried to reassure him, "Kono and I will bring Grace straight to the hospital. Go, Danny needs you."

Nodding Steve finally agreed, "Kono has the keys. I'll see you at the hospital," he, Chin and Jess moved Danny to the litter and then carried it out into the clearing.

A line with a harness was dropped down and Steve strapped himself in without any problems and was lifted into the chopper. Jess went with Danny next, still squeezing the bag rhythmically. Chin stood for a moment watching the door to the chopper close and then hurried to pick up Steve's back pack and the blanket before running to the truck and ushering both Kono and Grace inside so they could get to the hospital.

-5-0-

Danny had remained unconscious throughout the flight to Queens Medical Center. Jess had administered a third dose of epinephrine but there still hadn't been much improvement in his condition. When they landed on the helipad they were met by several medical staff that then whisked Danny off to the major trauma room while Steve once again sat in the waiting area to fill out forms.

Doctor Jensen had been waiting for the medevac chopper ever since they had received the call that a severe case of anaphylaxis was being brought in. He guessed he shouldn't have been surprised when Steve McGarrett stepped off the chopper and Danny Williams was the man contained in the litter.

Once they were in the trauma room Danny was immediately hooked up to a ventilator to assist with his breathing and further fluids were being pushed as his blood pressure was still low. The doctor ordered another dose of epinephrine hoping that this one would have the desired effect. The medical team watched for a few minutes and then finally saw the signs they'd been waiting for. Danny had started to tremble and the heart monitor showed signs of palpitations and his blood pressure had started to climb again. That might not sound good to the lay person but to the professionals it was a definite step in the right direction.

"Alright, get me 50 mg Diphenhydramine IV; 50 mg Ranitidine IV and 125 mg methylprednisolone IV," Doctor Jensen ordered, "Contact ICU and tell them we need a bed."

A flurry of activity surrounded the unconscious patient who was blissfully unaware of everything that had happened after Steve had made the first cut into his neck. An hour later Doctor Jensen had seen his patient settled into the ICU and was now on the hunt for his friends who the doctor knew would be waiting impatiently for news. He wasn't disappointed as he stepped into the waiting area.

"Doctor Jensen," Steve was the first to greet him as usual.

"Steve, Chin, Kono, Grace," he smiled down at the little girl who's brown eyes were red rimmed and watery, "Take a seat."

"How's Danny?" asked Chin.

"He's doing better. Danny hasn't yet regained consciousness but his blood pressure has stabilised and although he's currently connected to a ventilator that will only remain the case as long as he's unconscious. Once he regains consciousness we'll be able to assess his ability to breathe on his own. He has been given more epinephrine, two different antihistamines and a dose of corticosteroids. I've had him moved to ICU for monitoring until tomorrow morning and if they need to they will administer more of these."

"Did the crike do any damage?" Steve asked nervously.

"You did that I hear?" Doctor Jensen asked in return, receiving a nod he reassured the other man, "I don't believe that it did any damage other than the cuts required to perform it, in fact it saved his life. When he came in his throat was completely swollen closed." The doctor was trying to keep his words simple but also trying not to scare the little girl who was currently staring at him, "The short answer to what you all want to know is that Danny is going to be just fine. As long as there are no more issues overnight then he'll be released in the morning but he will need to continue to take the antihistamines orally for a few days and should ensure that he is able to call for medical assistance in the unlikely event of a relapse."

"Can we see him?" Steve asked, Grace clinging to his hand.

"Of course, Akela is expecting you," Doctor Jensen smiled at them.

"Thanks Doc," Steve held out his hand and the two men shook hands, followed by the other two team members before they disappeared from view to go and visit their friend.

-5-0-

Danny was still unconscious when Chin and Kono left to take Grace back to Steve's. The SEAL had promised his 'niece' that he wouldn't leave Danno's side until he woke up and that is exactly what he was doing.

Akela had been in and out all evening checking Danny's vitals and he had also administered another dose of IV antihistamine and corticosteroid as well as hanging another bag of fluid. The nurse assured Steve that his friend was doing just fine. Of course Steve wouldn't be convinced of that until Danny was awake and ranting at him for some perceived error. It had been a really long day and it had started out with such promise too. Leaning back in his chair he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.

The first thing that Danny became aware of as he regained consciousness was the constant beep of a heart monitor. That was OK though because he knew that meant he was in the hospital and safe. The more aware he became the more he started to feel uneasy. Searching his memory he tried to figure out how he'd landed in hospital, again. He'd gone out with the team and Grace for a picnic, swallowed an insect, choked, Steve passed him a bottle of drink… It wasn't his water, it was Grace's juice and it was juice that contained pineapple! He'd suffered an allergic reaction. There was still something he wasn't remembering. He moved both his hands and felt the pull of IVs in both, which was a little odd but nothing to worry about he was sure. He slid his hands further up his body until he caught them on something near his neck. What was that? Tentatively he followed the tube, one end led away from his body, the other end… hang on a minute! It was connected to his throat. Then he remembered, Steve by his side about to make an incision in his neck, a flash of pain…

Steve woke to the sound of Danny's heart monitor speeding up. He shot to his feet and pressed the call button while leaning over and taking his brother's hands, moving them away from the tube in case he pulled it by mistake, "Danny, it's alright. You're in the ICU and that tube is helping with your breathing."

Danny's eyes flickered open at the sound of his voice and panic filled blue eyes met Steve's concerned ones.

"Steve?" Akela asked as he hurried into the room. He'd already been on his way in as the increase in heart rate had registered at the nurses' station.

"He's awake and confused," Steve informed the nurse.

"Danny, come on, calm down. You can breathe just fine, there's no need to panic," Akela also tried to soothe his patient, but it wasn't working. He left the room and returned a minute later with a syringe, the contents of which he emptied into Danny's IV port, "Just a very mild dose of sedative to help him calm down," he explained to Steve.

A few minutes later Danny's eyes flickered open again and immediately locked on to Steve, "OK now?" asked the SEAL.

Danny nodded; the panic that had overwhelmed him and made him think he couldn't possibly breathe through that tiny tube had gone, replaced with a confidence that he was safe because wherever Steve was nothing could happen to him.

"Danny I paged Doctor Jensen, he should be here soon then we'll try to take you off the ventilator," the nurse spoke softly to his patient.

"I hear the patient is awake," Doctor Jensen hurried into the room.

"Yes, he didn't react too well to the tube in his throat," Akela informed the doctor.

"Well let's see what we can do about that," the doctor checked Danny's vitals and then gave him a physical examination, checking his throat for swelling, "Akela, turn the ventilator off please," he watched as his patient continued to breathe normally without any trouble, although there was a drop in his oxygen sats, that was to be expected, "Very good Danny. We'll remove the tube and stitch up the wound."

Akela left to get the necessary equipment as the Doctor fitted a nasal cannula to provide Danny with additional oxygen to bring his sats back up. Steve watched, holding Danny's hand as they gave him a local anaesthetic and stitched the hole that he had created. At least this time his friend wouldn't feel anything. Pain medication was introduced to the IV and Danny drifted back to sleep and Steve wasn't far behind.

-5-0-

"Come on Danny, let's get you inside," Steve nudged his friend to wake him up. When Doctor Jensen had agreed to release Danny that morning Steve had called Chin who had been more than happy to pick them up and bring them home.

They had been warned that Danny would probably be tired for a few days and the antihistamines he'd been prescribed would also cause some drowsiness. This had been borne out by the fact that no sooner had they settled him into the back of Steve's truck than he'd fallen fast asleep. He hadn't even woken when they'd stopped to fill the prescriptions for the antihistamines, antibiotics and pain medication.

"Huh?" was Danny's eloquent reply.

Laughing Steve spoke to him again, "We're home and we need to get you inside."

"Oh," Danny swung his legs out of the truck and allowed Steve to support him as he slid out. Chin joined them and the two men escorted him inside where pillows and a blanket were waiting on the couch for him.

"Danno!" Grace ran to her Dad and wrapped her arms around his waist briefly before letting him go and getting out of the way so that Steve and Chin could get him settled on the couch. She then pulled the blanket over him, "Are you comfortable?" she asked.

"Yeah Monkey, thanks." Grace settled against him on the couch and he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted nothing more than to talk to her but his body betrayed him and he was too tired so instead he let his eyes drift shut while still holding the most precious thing in his life in his arms. Steve, Chin and Kono left the two alone to sleep. Grace hadn't slept much the previous night either, anxious about her Dad. Kono and Chin had both tried to reassure her but usually in Danny's absence it would be Steve or Rachel that would manage to settle her and neither of them was available this time.

Lunch time soon came around and Steve was volunteered to wake the pair, neither Chin nor Kono wanting to tackle a grumpy Danny who could be like a bear with a sore head if woken from a deep sleep.

"Gracie, Danno, time to get up for lunch," Steve ran his hand lightly over Grace's head as she stirred.

"Hey Uncle Steve," she replied sleepily, reaching her arms up so he could lift her out of Danny's way. There was no effort involved for the SEAL in picking the child up, she may be eight but she was petite and easy to lift still, though he knew that wouldn't last much longer, so he'd enjoy it while he could. The pair turned their attention back to the still sleeping Danny.

"Hmm, what's the best way to wake him do you think?" Steve asked, "How about a bucket of ice cold water?"

"Don't even think about it Super SEAL!" Danny's eyes opened blearily looking at his partner, his daughter giggling in his friend's arms.

"Lunch. Do you need a hand up?"

"Nah, go on, I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be out in a minute," Danny slowly swung his legs round so he was sitting on the couch. He waited for the change in position to register with his brain and the room to stop its movement before getting to his feet and making his wobbly way to the downstairs bathroom.

"I'm going to wait here for your Dad, go and help Chin and Kono," suggested Steve as he lowered Grace back to the ground.

The team and Grace enjoyed a quiet lunch. There had already been too much excitement this weekend, even if it had been the wrong kind. The plates were cleared away and the afternoon was spent relaxing in front of the TV with Danny crashed out on the couch again. Dinner was ordered in and further movies dug out to entertain Grace before it was time for her to go to bed. Steve helped Danny up the stairs so he could tuck his daughter in before they returned down stairs for the much needed talk that the team needed to have. Everyone had questions and each deserved an honest answer.

Once everyone was comfortable and they all had a drink, though only water for Danny, there was a moment of silence until Steve decided to ask the question that they were all wanting the answer to.

"Allergic to pineapple, huh? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"All this time we thought your hatred of pineapple was 'cos we like it on pizza!" Kono shook her head in slight disbelief.

"Well that is _one_ reason I hate pineapple. Honestly! I only found out I was allergic not long after moving here. I was with Grace and we had a fruit salad which had pineapple in it. The next thing I know I'm waking up in hospital and Rachel is trying to calm down Grace who is freaking out! After that we had to sit her down and explain what had happened as well as tell her about the special pen I have to carry with me. That was nearly a year ago, I've managed to avoid pineapple since and never really thought to bring it up," Danny shrugged.

"Considering you're living on an island where pineapples grow it really is something you should have shared with us brah," Chin chastised lightly.

"Well that's the thing, I can touch a pineapple as long as it's not been cut open, it's something in the flesh that sets me off and since I never had any intention of ever eating it again…"

"Still, what would have happened if you were accidentally exposed, like yesterday and Grace hadn't been with us to explain?" pointed out Steve.

"I would still have been able to tell you where my pen was, you heard me tell Grace. I just didn't want to make a big deal of it, you know?"

"Is there anything else you're allergic to that we should know about?" asked Kono.

"Not that I'm aware of, but then again I wasn't aware I was allergic to pineapple until I moved to this infested hell-hole!"

"I think you should get one of those medic alert bracelets anyway," Steve said thoughtfully.

"Nope, no, not gonna happen."

"Why not?" demanded Chin.

"That's all I need is some bad guy deciding they want to capture me and torture me, they see the bracelet and immediately I'm being force fed pineapple!"

While thinking that perhaps Danny was being just a tad melodramatic he did make a fair point, "OK," Steve conceded, "One of us is mostly with you anyway but I'm going to insist that the whole team carry an epi pen as a precaution given that one dose this time wasn't sufficient."

"Fair enough," Danny actually thought that was a reasonable suggestion, "Now I have a question."

"Go on," prompted Steve.

"A first aid kit with a scalpel? Really Steven? Did you steal the kit from the Army?"

"No Danny, I didn't steal it from the _Navy_!" he put emphasis on the Navy, "If you go on line there are plenty of kits to choose from. I just happened to choose one with things like scalpels and suture kits. This one is called the Elite First Aid Tactical Trauma kit."

"And this?" he pointed to the dressing covering the stitches in his neck, "Had you ever performed one of these before?"

"Er, honestly? No. I had done chest tubes but not a crike," he shrugged uncomfortably.

"OK then. One more thing…"

"Yes Danny?" "For the love of all that is holy and in the unlikely event that you have to perform some sort of field surgery on one of us again, but especially me, can you _please_get a kit with some form of good drugs or anaesthetic in it?"

"Can't do it Danno."

"Can't do it?"

"Nope, I wouldn't be allowed to order anything that contained morphine or anything like it. I'm not a licensed medical professional!" Steve grinned.

"Oh, well that makes me feel so much better!"

"Was this medical training part of your SEAL training?" Kono asked curiously.

"We did advance first aid but I took an additional course."

"Of course you did, that's why you're Super SEAL!" scoffed Danny, a fact that he had never been so grateful for in all the time he'd known Steve.

"Time for your meds Danny," Chin pointed out and handed the bottles over before the pair could get into a bickering contest.

"Thanks man," Danny smiled at him before popping each bottle open and taking the medication.

"When can you come back to work?"

"Doctor Jensen said home for three days, light duties for another few days and then back to normal," replied Danny, following the sentence up with a wide yawn.

"OK, that's it, time for bed!" Steve ordered.

"Oh but Dad, I'm not tired yet," the statement belied by another huge yawn.

"Uh huh, come on, on your feet, or do I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you upstairs?"

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up!" Danny pushed to his feet before turning to Chin and Kono, "Thanks guys."

"Don't scare us like that again," Kono scolded as she pulled him to her for a hug.

"Yeah, I don't ever want to witness surgeon Steve again," Chin agreed, joining the hug briefly.

The cousins wished Steve a good night and then left. The SEAL turned to his friend and offered him assistance to get up the stairs, which Danny gratefully accepted. Once the detective had used the bathroom and changed for bed he turned to his best friend.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for saving my life, so thank you."

"You're welcome, but don't take this the wrong way Danno, I hope I never have to do anything like that again," Steve responded. He had faced down terrorists and had never been as scared as he was as he had cut into his brother's neck in an attempt to save his life. He would never admit it out loud but he wasn't sure how he got through the procedure.

Danny held open his arms and Steve gave him his goofy grin as he walked into the embrace and the two men, brothers by nothing other than circumstances and closeness, stayed holding on to each other, comforted by the fact that they had each other.

-5-0-

**A/N: OK when I uploaded my word document all my formatting was off so I had go through it again, if I missed anything I apologise. Now, as usual I did a lot of research on anaphylaxis, crikes and treatment. I found lots of information but there were also some big ole gaping holes which I had to fill with my own imagination so if something isn't accurate I'm sorry but I tried my best!**


	17. Q is for Quashed

**DISCLAIMER: *Yawn* Still don't own.**

**A/N: Thanks for reviews / reading / alerts. This is another kind of odd chapter, but it was nice to write one where I didn't have to do a ton of research!**

**Q is for Quashed**

Danny's day was already not going well and he had literally just woken up because his cell rang. It was the ringtone Grace had programmed in for Steve, it was Action Man by Hafdis Huld and every time Danny changed it she changed it back so he'd given up. To make it fair she had also programmed a ringtone for Danny into her Uncle Steve's phone, Joe Piscopo's New Jersey. Steve didn't want to hurt his 'niece's' feelings so hadn't changed his either. Fumbling for the phone he picked it up and answered.

"Danny where the hell are you?" Steve didn't sound too happy.

"Huh?" in Danny's defence he had just woken up.

"You were supposed to be at work an hour ago!" growled his boss.

"Wha'?" Danny looked up to see his digital clock flashing at him and groaned, "Musta been a power cut, alarm didn't go off."

"Get up and get your ass in the office!" Steve didn't wait for a reply and hung up.

Danny glared at the phone, seriously considering throwing it across the room but decided that having to explain to his already pissed off boss that he needed a new one wouldn't be worth the temporary satisfaction of taking his frustration out on the cell.

Dragging himself out of bed he put the kettle on so he could at least have a mug of instant coffee before he left, then hurried into the bathroom, no way was he going in without having a shower. He turned the shower on, stripped off his boxers and jumped in, only to shriek and jump straight back out again. The damn shower was cold. Of course, if the power went out it meant the timer for the hot water was out of synch and probably hadn't come on as normal.

Grabbing a towel and drying his shivering body he gave up on the idea of a shower, cleaned his teeth and went to make his coffee. Opening the fridge his nose was assaulted by the strong smell of food that had gone off overnight because the power had been out. He opened the carton of milk, sniffed, screwed up his nose and threw it away. There'd be no coffee before going into the office either.

Great when he got home tonight he had the pleasure of clearing out his fridge, there was no time to do it now, and going to the grocery store to restock it. That was something to look forward to!

Danny growled under his breath, grabbed his car keys and locked up his apartment. Jogging out to the parking lot he was met by yet another hiccup to his day, someone had slashed the tires on the Camaro.

Rubbing his hand over his hair, he pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled out his cell. This was a call he was not looking forward to making.

"McGarrett."

"Steve, I'm going to be late…"

"You're already late Danny!"

"Yeah but…"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

"Will you just shut up and listen!" Danny yelled, using his free hand to rub at his temple where a headache was starting to make itself known. He heard a huff of breath on the other end of the phone but no further comment and not a dial tone as he might have expected after yelling at the man who was, after all, his boss, "Someone has slashed the tires on my car, so I'm going to be delayed."

"Well it shouldn't take you long to change it…"

"I said tires, Steven, plural! All four have been slashed. I now need to arrange to get the car taken to a garage, or get someone out here. Look, I'll get a cab and make some calls from the office," he really didn't have time to deal with this right now. This was another stress he could have done without given that he was going to have to find the money to get four new tires that he could ill afford. An unexpected and definitely unwanted expenditure, but he needed his car.

"No, don't do that. Look I'll come and get you. I'm sure Chin or Kono will know someone that can do you a good deal on new tires," Steve had calmed down. He could hear the stress in his partner's voice and he knew that this would be a financial blow to the man whose salary went mostly to child support for his daughter, "I'll be there in twenty."

"Thanks," Danny hung up and went back inside his apartment. At least now he'd have the time to clear the fridge and reset the clock on his hot water and alarm. He also went in search of some headache tablets, but seemed to have run out, which really was just his luck the way his day was going.

Steve pulled up just as Danny was carrying a couple of bags of trash out to the main bins outside. He waited patiently for his friend to return to lock up his apartment and join him in the truck.

"You been partying?" Steve asked.

"Huh?"

"The bags of trash."

"Oh, no. The power cut that meant my alarm didn't go off also messed with my hot water and fridge. That was the contents of the fridge that had managed to spoil overnight."

"You've not had a good morning have you?"

"Not really, no. There was no hot water for a shower and no milk for my coffee."

"You can grab a shower at the Palace if you want; there are no urgent cases at the moment."

"Thanks but I need to make some calls to get the Camaro sorted. I'm going to need it after work tonight to go grocery shopping."

"The cousins were already working on getting something sorted for you when I left."

"Oh, that's great, thanks," Danny absentmindedly rubbed at his temples trying to massage away the dull ache.

"Headache?"

"Start of one, yeah. Run out of headache tablets, would you believe?"

"I've got some in my desk," Steve offered as they pulled up outside the Palace. The two men got out of the truck and made their way into the 5-0 offices, "Why don't you go and sit in your office, I'll grab you some water and those headache pills."

"Yeah, OK, thanks."

Steve raised his eyebrows at the speed with which his partner had capitulated. A close look at him confirmed that he was paler than normal. This wasn't the first time that he'd had to deal with Danny at the onset of a migraine and whether his friend would admit it or not this appeared to be exactly that. Steve grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge in his office and took the pills out of his drawer. If he was right and he'd caught it soon enough these pills would be fine, if not then Danny would need stronger pain relief.

The SEAL strode across to Danny's office, placed the water and pills on his desk in front of him then started to close the blinds at both the internal and external windows.

"Thanks, what are you doing?"

"Closing the blinds."

"I see that. Why?"

"You have the start of a migraine and don't try to tell me that it's not. I've seen the signs before remember? I should just have turned round and taken you home but I didn't realise until we got here. Figure if you crash out on your couch for a while it might nip it in the bud."

"I'm fine Steve."

"Of course you are Danno, but you're still going to lie down on that couch for a while."

"We've got work to do."

"It's nothing that the rest of the team can't handle for a little while! Now are you going to do as I tell you or do I need to send Kono in?" Steve stood by his partner's desk with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised in question.

"Fine," Danny caved under the threat of Kono. He made his way over to his couch and stretched out on it.

Steve went to the door and closed the blinds on that as well before leaving and closing it behind him.

Danny sighed in defeat. His head was killing him and although the room wasn't as dark as his room at home it was better than the bright light that was coming in previously. Closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep.

"Is he OK boss?" Kono asked, worry tingeing the question.

"He has a headache," Steve replied. The whole team knew that Danny suffered with migraines, but he hadn't had one in a while so they were surprised.

"Well I have some news that will cheer him up! A cousin's, son's, son can sort out some new tires for the Camaro."

Steve furrowed his brow trying to follow the connection with the relatives but shrugged his shoulders knowing he hadn't a hope in hell of figuring out Chin or Kono's family, "That's great. How much and what do we need to do?"

"He's going to do them for free."

"That's about $1500 in tires! What's the catch?"

"No catch boss. I explained what had happened and my cousin said he'd cover it. I've been giving the kids free surfing lessons for years so he figures he owes me."

"Wow, that's generous. I don't know that Danny will accept though," Steve knew how Danny was about accepting help.

"We'll work something out. He's a great cook so perhaps I can persuade him to do something to help with one of the family gatherings. Anyway, if we get them done before he wakes up he won't get a choice in the matter!"

"OK, what do we need to do?"

"Cuz said he'd go to Danny's and pick the car up; he's got a flatbed that he can lift it on to. He's going to swing by and pick up the keys in about thirty minutes. It should be ready in a couple of hours."

Steve nodded in approval. His ohana really knew how to support one another when things weren't going to plan.

-5-0-

When Kono's cousin called to tell them the car was ready Steve and Chin left to get it as Danny was still asleep. The plan was that Chin would drive Steve's truck back to his house and then they'd both come back in the Camaro. They wanted to see if they could find out who was behind the slashing of the tires before leaving it parked overnight at Danny's apartment building again. Steve didn't see any other cars damaged when he picked Danny up that morning so he was worried that the car had been targeted because someone knew who it belonged to.

Danny actually woke up not long after the two men had left the office but not because he had wanted to. No, his phone had woken him. Steve had switched it to silent so that if it rang it wouldn't disturb him but it was still close by if he needed it. The vibrating of the phone on the end table near his head managed to break through his sleep.

Picking it up from the table he peered at it bleary eyed, the number was unknown so he ignored it and replaced it on the table. It stopped only to start again a minute later. This kept on for five minutes until Danny decided he wasn't going to get any more rest for his throbbing head until he answered it.

"Williams."

There was no voice on the other end; all he could hear was heavy breathing. So he hung up, only to have the phone start vibrating again. The same thing could be heard. He hung up again. This time it was a few minutes before it started vibrating again. Once more all that he could hear was heavy breathing.

"Man up and speak or leave me alone," growled Danny. The response was dial tone. Placing the phone back on the table he waited ten minutes to see if it would vibrate again, when it didn't he started to relax again, but he had relaxed too soon as the phone vibrated again, still unknown number displaying on the screen.

Growling Danny answered it then hung up straight away and powered the phone off and tossed it back onto the table, his head was now pounding again. He had just managed to drift off again when the cell started to vibrate. Danny's eyes shot open and he pulled himself into a sitting position. He knew he'd turned the damn thing off.

This time the display showed a number so he answered it, before any words were out of his mouth the person on the other end spoke, but their voice was distorted, "Detective Williams. Did you like your present this morning? Such a shame to have your tires vandalised in such a manner."

"Who the hell is this?"

"An old friend. Next time it won't be the tires. Maybe it will be Commander McGarrett or Detective Kelly, perhaps the pretty Officer Kalakaua. It might even be that adorable little girl of yours or I may just skip straight to the root of the trouble, you. See you soon Detective!"

Danny sat and stared at the phone for a moment before he threw it against the wall with as much strength as he could muster. This reaction was quickly followed by a physical one that had him reaching for his waste paper bin.

Kono heard the crash as the phone hit the wall and dashed out of her office and into Danny's. Opening the door she found him on his knees with his head over his bin throwing up the little that he had in his stomach. She dropped down next to him and rubbed her hand over his back until he was finished. "Danny?"

He waved her away as he managed to get to his feet and drop onto the sofa, his head in his hands. Looking around the office she noticed the phone laying in pieces on the floor.

"Come on Danny, talk to me," she begged. No response was forthcoming. Kono spotted the bottle of water Steve had left but when she picked it up she realised that it was warm so walked across to Steve's office to grab another one out of his fridge. Entering Danny's office again she sat down next to him and handed it over.

"Thanks," he whispered. He took the lid off and took a few small sips before resting his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes. Whatever improvement had been made over the last few hours with his headache had all been washed away with that phone call, in fact the pain was so much worse than before and his vision was plagued by flashes of colour.

"I'll take this out for you," Kono indicated the bin.

"It's alright; I'll do it in a minute."

"Danny, you can hardly stand. I've got it," she got up taking the bin with her and closed the office door quietly behind her to shut out the bright lights from the main office.

She had just got back to the main office with the now cleaned bin as Steve and Chin returned, "Oh thank god."

"Kono?" that one word contained a multitude of questions.

"Something's up with Danny. I was in my office when I heard a thud so I got up to check on him. He was kneeling on the floor throwing up," she moved the bin to emphasise her point, "his phone is on the floor in pieces and he won't tell me what's wrong."

Steve and Chin exchanged worried glances, before the SEAL took the bin from Kono and strode into Danny's office, closing the door quietly behind him. Looking his partner over he noticed the increased pallor, the visibly shaking hands that were still holding the water bottle given to him by Kono and the crease in his brow indicating that his headache had turned it up a notch. He sat down on the couch next to him and waited hoping that if he sat quietly Danny would tell him what the problem was when he was ready.

"Sorry about the phone."

That hadn't been quite what Steve had expected, "What did it do to you?"

"Kept vibrating! When I checked it was an unknown number."

"Did you answer it?"

"A few times."

"And?" prompted Steve, it was like pulling teeth and normally you couldn't shut the New Jersey native up!

"Heavy breathing."

"Why didn't you turn it off?"

"I did."

"I don't get it; if you turned it off how did it end up in pieces on the floor?"

"It turned back on and started vibrating again."

"It did what?"

Danny could hear the scepticism in Steve's voice and honestly he couldn't blame him. If he hadn't seen it for himself he wouldn't have believed it either, "It turned back on. Number showed up this time so I answered it again."

"OK, what happened?"

Taking a deep breath Danny told Steve everything that the distorted voice had said, "So that's when I kinda freaked out and threw the phone against the wall."

"Damn. How are you feeling now?"

Danny opened his eyes briefly and looked questioningly at his friend who in turn indicated the now clean bin, "Oh. Not feeling so sick anymore, but I definitely have a migraine."

"I'm taking you back to your apartment, you can pick up some things and then you're staying with me. I'm betting that call was Shane Warner and you're not safe at your apartment."

"No."

"No?"

"Yes, no! He's threatened all of the team and Grace. I can't stay with anyone."

"Danny, I have a state of the art alarm at my place and we can get additional protection for Chin and Kono."

"They won't accept it."

"Then you can all stay at mine until we find Warner."

"That could take weeks Steve; you don't want us staying with you that long, and what about Grace?"

"I'll have you stay with me to protect you and the rest of our ohana as long as it takes. I'll get a protection detail for Grace."

Danny started to protest again but was cut off by his stomach rebelling again. Steve was quick to get the bin in front of him, but this time there was little to bring up but the water he'd drunk and his body was just wracked with dry heaves. The detective groaned, "Man that hurts!"

"No arguing Danny. I'm calling the Governor and filling him in and then we're doing what I said," Steve left the room before his friend could even attempt to argue.

Head still pounding and room now swimming to go along with the visual disturbances Danny lay back down on the couch, too tired to argue with Steve any further.

Steve quickly filled Chin and Kono in before going into his office to call the Governor. Chin quietly entered Danny's office and picked up the pieces of the cell while Kono retrieved the call logs to see if they could track down where the calls had been made from and by whom.

When Steve finished speaking with the Governor he returned to the main office, joining Chin and Kono at the computer table.

"I'm going to take Danny back to mine, via his apartment. I expect you two to collect things from your places and stay at mine until Warner is found. Don't go anywhere on your own," instructed Steve.

Neither was particularly happy about being ordered to stay at Steve's but they also knew that Danny wouldn't stay there unless they did and this was about protecting their ohana, _all_ of their ohana.

-5-0-

Steve gave Danny a pair of sunglasses to help until he could get him home and into a darkened room and then they left the Palace to go to his apartment.

Danny stopped completely when he saw the Camaro, causing Steve to stumble slightly as he had been supporting his partner to make sure he didn't lose his balance, "Er, Steven, how is it my car has new tires when I don't remember sorting it?"

"A distant cousin of Kono's arranged to have the car picked up and the tires replaced. Chin and I went to collect it but took the truck back to mine. Even without this latest turn of events I don't think the Camaro would have been safe at your apartment right now."

"How much?"

"Don't worry about it right now."

"How. Much?"

"The cousin did it as a favour for Kono."

"I can't accept that."

"I told her that and she said that you could sort it out later, something about helping to cook for the next family gathering."

"My cooking skills don't go as far as feeding the five thousand!"

"Don't worry about it now, just get in the car!"

Danny obediently slid into the Camaro and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

Steve pulled up in front of Danny's apartment building and walked around the car to help his friend out. There was a brief moment where Danny wobbled but the firm grip Steve had on him prevented any nasty face planting experiences.

The steadying hand remained until Steve had seated Danny on the couch in his apartment. Steve then disappeared towards the bedroom to pack a bag for his partner.

Stretched out on the couch with his eyes closed Danny was surprised to hear a loud thud coming from the bedroom.

"Steve," he called out, getting up from the couch and starting to make his way towards his bedroom.

"Danny! Get out!" a muffled but clearly audible warning was heard.

As Steve's partner Danny knew he should go to his aid, as his subordinate he knew he should do as he was ordered. The pounding in his head meant he wouldn't be much help to Steve but if he left he didn't have a cell to call for back up. His normally fast decision making skills were being hampered, on a normal day he would enter into the fray without a second thought. No, he couldn't leave Steve, no matter the risk to himself; it's just not what they do. Leaning against the wall he headed in the direction of the bedroom but before he could make it there he felt an arm snake around his neck from behind and start to squeeze. His already impaired vision started to fade completely as he fought for breath. Despite his valiant efforts to struggle with his assailant he just didn't have the strength and soon he was losing consciousness, the last thing he heard was Steve shouting his name.

-5-0-

Steve came round and felt the all too familiar feeling of the after effects of being tasered. Opening his eyes he took in his surroundings. He was lying on the ground of a dark, dank alley. There was something he knew he should be remembering, something important… Danny!

Hauling himself to his feet Steve made his way out of the alley to try and figure out where he was. Looking around he figured he was somewhere in downtown Honolulu. Patting his pockets he found that his cell was gone, as was his badge and gun. He needed to get to a phone.

Finding a payphone that was working a few minutes down the road he dialled 911 and, after giving his badge number, requested to be transferred to 5-0.

"_Steve, are you alright?"_

"Yeah Chin, I'm fine. I was tasered, but I don't think I've got any other injuries."

"_Oh thank god! We've been looking for you for the last three hours!"_

"Three hours?"

"_Yeah. Kono and I went to your place but you weren't there, so we headed to Danny's. The Camaro was there so when there was no answer Kono picked the lock. The apartment was a disaster area and there was no sign of either of you."_

"They must have been waiting for us inside. I went into the bedroom to get some of Danny's things together and three men jumped me. I tried to warn Danny but he must have come to see what was wrong and a fourth man grabbed him. Last time I saw him he was being dragged from his apartment, unconscious and then I was tasered."

"_Look I'm on my way to get you. Kono tracked the payphone you're calling from."_

Steve could hear Chin starting up his SUV, "Did you find any evidence of who was responsible or where they might have taken Danny?"

"_Charlie Fong found some blood in the bedroom; he's running it for DNA now."_

"Some of it's probably mine," Steve stated, feeling dried blood under his nose.

"_Yeah, one of the samples was yours, but there's at least two more that aren't."_

"We've got to find him Chin. He's in no condition to take care of himself with that migraine and it certainly won't get better by being choked into unconsciousness."

"_I know brah. I'll be with you in fifteen minutes," Chin promised before hanging up._

True to his word Chin pulled up by the payphone within fifteen minutes. Steve jumped into the SUV and they took off back to the Palace.

-5-0-

"Kono, what have you got?" asked Steve without preamble.

"Steve! Are you alright?" she gave him the once over, taking in the slightly stiff way he was walking and the dried blood that he was yet to clean away from under his nose.

"I'm OK Kono, have you heard anything back from Charlie?"

"Not yet. He told me he'd have an update for me in the next thirty minutes. Look we've got a handle on this why don't you go and change."

"I'm fine."

"You could have evidence on your clothes Steve," pointed out Kono.

"OK, fine. Get me a new cell, they took mine. I also need a new badge and can you inform HPD my gun was stolen?"

"On it, go and get changed."

Steve was gone for a little over ten minutes, on his return both Chin and Kono were typing away on the computer table.

"What have we got?"

"Charlie got a hit from one of the DNA samples."

"Already?"

"He put it on the top of the priority list. The guy's name is Bane Jordan. Thirty years old. He's got a rap sheet as long as my arm for petty theft; assault and battery; grand theft auto."

"Kidnapping a police officer seems a bit out of his league."

"True, but we don't know who he's working with. He could just be the hired muscle. He's a fourth degree black belt in Kenpo. He had a helicopter licence too."

"This is interesting," Chin expanded a section of Jordan's rap sheet, "One of the assault and battery accusations was made by his wife, Lizzie."

"Get an address and let's go speak to her," Steve ordered, "Kono, you stay here and track any other leads that come in from the forensics team," Steve entered his office and unlocked the gun safe he had in there, pulling out another Sig and placing it in his holster after loading it.

-5-0-

Chin and Steve pulled up outside Lizzie Jordan's run down bungalow on the outskirts of Honolulu.

Stepping up to the door Chin knocked and the door was opened by a petite woman with short red hair and green eyes. Her skin was pale and she had a look about her that said life hadn't been kind to her.

"Yes?"

"Detective Kelly, Commander McGarrett with 5-0, we'd like to speak to you about your husband."

"Ex-husband. What's the sonuvabitch done now?"

"We don't know that he's done anything, but his name has come up in an investigation into the disappearance of a police officer."

"You better come in," she stepped back and gestured for them to enter, "Take a seat."

"Do you know where Bane is now?"

"No, don't care neither. Barely a week went by when I wasn't being used as his punching bag when we were married. I'll tell you this though, if you think he's involved in this disappearance and you have evidence to prove it, then I'll help you anyway I can! I want to see him put away for life so that he can't threaten me no more!"

"If you could give us a list of people that he knows, hangs out with on a regular basis?"

"Give me a pen and paper," she held out her hand as Chin passed her his notebook and she began scribbling.

"You're husband had a helicopter licence, do you know if he has access to a helicopter at all?"

"Oh, I _know_ he has access. He bought a chopper when we was still married, but when I filed for a divorce suddenly it disappeared. Speak to Terry O'Connor about that, I'm pretty sure he keeps it for Bane," she handed the list of names and addresses that she knew, including that of Terry O'Connor.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful. If you think of anything else, please call," Chin handed her a card and the two men left, "Terry O'Connor's?"

"Oh yeah."

It wasn't far to O'Connor's but the greeting was less friendly and the man less willing to cooperate. It ended up with the man stupidly waving a gun at them giving them the perfect excuse to take him to HPD for interrogation.

-5-0-

"I keep telling you, I don't know where Bane is! I haven't seen or spoken to him in weeks!" Terry O'Connor whined.

"He's wanted in connection with the kidnapping of a police officer. If you don't cooperate I will make sure that you go down as an accessory!" Steve snarled, wishing that he could just hang this guy off a roof.

A knock on the door disturbed them and Steve looked up as Kono entered. She handed a piece of paper to Steve and a copy to Chin before standing back against the wall.

"Now you see, this is interesting," Steve looked over to Chin.

"That it is. Now Terry, didn't you tell us that you hadn't spoken to Bane in weeks?"

"I… I haven't," the response was less than confident.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Steve leaned over into the man's personal space causing him to flinch.

"Of course I'm sure!" the man couldn't look the SEAL in the eye.

"Well then I say you're a liar. This right here says that you've been in contact with Bane every day for the last week, including this morning," Chin shoved the paper under the man's nose.

"I… er… no…"

"Yes. This is what we call proof. Now either you come clean or I throw the book at you for accessory, possession of an illegal firearm, threatening a police officer and anything else I can think of," the impatience in Steve's tone said how serious he was.

"Where is Bane?" Chin demanded.

"Look, I don't know anything about a cop being taken. Bane called me and told me he needed to use the chopper he'd asked me to look after and wanted it to be ready today."

"Where was he going?"

"Moloka'i. He said something about going hiking in the Forest Reserve, said he needed a break."

"How long was he going to be gone for?"

"He thought it would be about a week."

"He'd have to file a flight plan though, right?" Kono asked.

Steve strode out of the interrogation room Chin and Kono hot on his heels, "Not if he flew beneath the radar!"

"What are you thinking?"

"They've flown Danny off Oahu to Moloka'i."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to get ourselves a helicopter and we're going to go after him!"

-5-0-

**A/N: Quashed - **Subdue forcefully****

****So, a departure from the norm. A cliffhanger of sorts meaning I have completely linked this chapter with the next! Am I a mean writer? Hopefully the next chapter will be complete by tomorrow night.****


	18. R is for Restrained

**DISCLAIMER: It may be the start of 2012 here in the UK (00:13 to be precise) but I still don't own them dagnabit!**

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading, the reviews and the alerts. They make me smile so much.**

**To my anonymous reviewer for the last chapter: Thank you so much for taking the time to point out certain 'Britishisms' that have fallen into my story. I honestly didn't know how hot water worked in the US so had to go with what I know about the UK. The thing about the fridge was a bit of creative license, I am sorry if that spoilt the story for anybody. If anyone has constructive criticism of this nature then please don't be afraid to share it. Anon stated that they enjoyed the stories despite my slips and these comments help me catch where I'm failing to use the correct terminology. I'm not offended by reviews of this nature.**

**I had a little issue with tenses, when I re-read this to check for errors I noticed half way through I moved from past to present tense. I was blooming annoyed 'cos it meant I had to correct it and then re-read it again. I apologise if I missed any.**

**R is for Restrained**

Danny's return to consciousness was unpleasant at best. The ground was cold and hard, his body ached like he'd been grabbed by a large wave and spun over again and again before being flung on hard packed sand. He tried to stretch his body to remove some of the kinks and found that his hands were tied behind his back, his ankles tied together. To make matters worse he realised that his ankles were then also tied to his wrists.

'_You have to be kidding me? Hogtied _again!_ Someone out there really hates me." _Danny thought with disgust. This time was a little less painful as he was at least lying on his side. _'Now where am I? How the hell did I get here?'_

The thinking wasn't helping the severe migraine that was still pounding his brain. He had no idea how long he'd had it. There was a chance he'd been out for hours or even days. The one thing he had managed to establish, where ever he was, it was dark.

Trying to think back to how he'd come to be in this position was difficult, but he remembered being at his apartment with Steve…

"Steve?" the question came out as more of a whisper. There was no reply from the pitch black that surrounded him. The last thing he remembered was an arm around his throat and fighting to remain conscious, he'd clearly failed given his current circumstances. Still he knew his partner _had_ been with him, the question was, was he here with him _now_? "Steve!" he called louder.

There was some rustling nearby and a shaft of bright light filled the dark space, "Shut up!" growled a male voice from the other side of that light. Danny couldn't see him; it was like the man was standing behind a flashlight that was being shone directly into his eyes, which he'd been unable to keep open for more than a few seconds as the light assaulted his already tortured head.

"What do you want?" Danny wanted to know. Perhaps he could find out who had him and where he was.

"You're in no position to make demands! Now shut up!"

The light disappeared with another rustle, even with his eyes closed Danny could tell as the level of darkness behind his eyelids became deeper.

Right, he wasn't getting any answers from his captor, or possibly captors, just because he'd only heard one voice didn't mean there weren't more. The next move was to see if he could free himself. Wiggling he pulled at his bindings until he was breathless from the effort. All he'd done was cause the ropes to burn the flesh at his wrists and ankles, didn't look like he was getting the ropes undone anytime soon. Even if he did he was in no condition to take on anyone, no matter how many there were. Add to that the fact he didn't know where he was… yeah, he was screwed.

'_Come on Danno, man up! Look at the advantages of your situation.' _Steve's voice popped unbidden, but not necessarily unwelcomed, into Danny's head.

'_There's an advantage to my current situation? Oh please, Super SEAL Steve, do enlighten me!' _Oh yeah, he was in a bad way, he was bickering with Steve in his head.

'_You have a migraine and you're in the dark. You always told me that complete dark was one of the best things for it," _imaginary Steve pointed out.

'_Huh, well that's true enough. Then again so are heavy duty painkillers when I get one this bad,' _thought Danny.

'_Rest. You never know when the opportunity to escape your situation will come up. We're looking for you, you know that, but you need to help yourself.'_

'_Yeah, you're right. I'll just try to rest…' _the overwhelming desire to sleep, despite his uncomfortable position, overcame him and he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

-5-0-

"How did you manage to commandeer a helicopter?" Kono asked over the mic connected to her headset.

"The owner of the tour company is a friend," Chin replied from his seat beside Steve, who was, naturally, flying the chopper.

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"About thirty minutes," responded Steve.

"What are we gonna do when we get there? I mean we have no idea where Jordan might have taken Danny!" it wasn't that Kono doubted Steve but following one man to an island like Moloka'i with no idea where he might be going was a little crazy. Then again Danny always said their boss was insane!

"There aren't many places that a chopper can land on Moloka'i. You can't land a chopper on the North shore; it can only be reached by boat. My bet is they've taken Danny there. Not many tourists actually walk through the forests on that side of the island because it is so difficult to reach. We'll land at Kalaupapa airport and then we'll just have to start asking around, see if we can find out if Jordan has been seen and if he's paid someone for a boat trip. If he has then we'll know where he's taken Danny."

"This could all be a red herring," Chin warned. He didn't like the idea of not knowing where Danny was any more than the others but he needed to be the voice of reason.

"It could," agreed Steve, "But it's the only lead we have."

The rest of the flight was spent in silence. Once they landed at the airport they produced the permit that had been arranged via the Governor and were met by a police officer who introduced himself as Keanu Iona. Nobody commented on the name. Steve made a point of showing Bane Jordan's picture around, but nobody at the airport had seen him. It had been a long shot that the man had actually landed there as he'd want to stay beneath the authorities' radar.

"I suggest going into Kalaupapa to find out if anyone has any knowledge of this man," the officer indicated the photo Steve still held, "Or if a stranger has requested a private boat trip. Although he hasn't come into the airport here this is the nearest place on this side of the island for getting a boat to go further along the North shore."

"Sounds like a good place to start," replied Steve, "Let's go." They climbed into the local officer's car.

It was actually Officer Iona that found them a witness, "Commander McGarrett this is Ms Pula, she says her cousin told her about a man who wanted to charter a private boat."

"Ms Pula, can you tell me what your cousin said?"

"A man said he would pay him $5000 to drop him and some friends at Pelekunu Bay and return for him in a week. I saw him a short time ago and he told me he had been paid $2500 and would get the rest when he picked them up."

"Did you see the man? Where is your cousin now?"

"No I didn't. He's gone to Lanai and won't return until the men need to be picked up, he can't be reached though I'm afraid. Does any of that help you?"

"Yes, Ms Pula, it helps us a lot, thank you."

The group turned away to discuss their next step, "No way you can get into Pelekunu Bay unless it's by boat."

"Can you help us find someone to take us?" Steve asked.

"I can try, but if that is where they've taken your man the Pelekunu Preserve is over five thousand acres, you'll never find him."

"If you can help get us a boat to charter," Steve ignored what Iona was saying about the size of the Preserve as he walked off to call the Governor with an update.

"He can't be serious? It will take days and a lot of man power to search that area."

"Oh, he's deadly serious. If anyone can find Danny out there it's Steve McGarrett," assured Chin.

"Look, I know you want to find your friend but I just don't see how the three of you are going to manage it."

"Steve's a Navy SEAL," Kono stated as if that explained everything.

"Now please, who do we need to speak to about chartering a boat?" Chin asked.

"I'll go and speak to a few people," reluctantly the young officer left to see what he could do to assist. No matter how futile he thought their expedition was he was part of law enforcement too and that meant that Detective Williams was a brother in arms. If the only way he could help him was to get his team a boat then that's what he'd do.

It took him half an hour but he finally tracked down a local willing to take the team out to Pelekunu Bay. Once again he made the introductions, "Commander McGarrett; Detective Kelly; Officer Kalakaua, this is Jon Delaney, he has agreed to take you where you need to go."

The three 5-0 team members shook hands with Jon Delaney, grateful for his willingness to help. Within an hour they were leaving the shore behind. An hour after that Jon manoeuvred his medium sized boat into the bay. A small dinghy was lowered and the 5-0 team headed to shore.

Each of them had a back pack with water, food, a radio, sleeping bag and first aid equipment. There was no way to know how far they'd have to go or what condition Danny would be in, if, no, _when_, they found him. Jon returned to Kalaupapa and the team would radio him when they needed him to come back for them.

"Alright, the Pelekunu Preserve isn't actually open to the public and is monitored carefully so I think they would stay to the edges. Maybe they're using one of the caves along this side of the shore."

"They wouldn't have gone far anyway, if Danny was unconscious he'd have been a burden that they wouldn't want to carry given the terrain, if he was conscious I can't imagine he was very co-operative!" Chin provided.

"Agreed. Let's head east," Steve started climbing the steep hill that would lead them towards the next bay and to an area where several well hidden caves were located. He had made a point of speaking to Kamekona and asking about the island, the man had been a mine of information and had supplied topo maps with the location of caves marked on them provided by a friend of a friend. Steve didn't ask, he was just glad to have the intel.

-5-0-

Danny woke again to complete darkness. The pounding in his head had lessened a little but he was under no illusions that if he was again exposed to light it would increase with a vengeance. The detective wasn't prepared to lay there and wait for the final blow, whatever it may be, to fall or be rescued like some scared and helpless damsel. He had to find a way out.

He struggled with his ropes once again, twisting his hands to try and manipulate them closer to any of the knots that were holding him in this ridiculous position. There was no sense of time so he didn't know how long he kept it up for, but he would rest before starting another attempt. The trickle of blood that he felt run down his arms and ankles told him that if he had succeeded in doing nothing else then he'd at least managed to tear the skin where the ropes were wrapped around him, not the result he was hoping for.

If it wouldn't have made his head worse he would definitely be banging his head against the hard surface on which he was lying. Why did these things always happen to him? It had always been Super SEAL that attracted trouble, and by that he meant gunfire and explosions, in the past, yet it always seemed to be Danny these days. Had he broken a mirror at some point? Was it possible that a native Hawaiian had put a curse on him? If he ever got out of this perhaps he should speak to Kamekona about the possibility of changing his luck via a Hawaiian ritual or two. It might not help, but at this point it certainly couldn't hurt!

A rustling near what Danny figured must be the opening had him closing his eyes and evening out his breathing in an attempt to feign sleep. The person entering wasn't particularly quiet but they did undo the rope connecting his wrists to his ankles. The relief was almost unbearable but he knew that pain would likely follow when the numbness wore off.

The pounding in his head wasn't helped when the man pulled him into a more upright position and then dragged him outside into the bright light of the day and unceremoniously dumped him in a heap. Danny took a few moments to open his eyes and saw two men before the light became too much and he slammed his eyes shut again.

"Here," a deep male voice spoke as a bottle of water was held to Danny's lips and he instinctively drank it, taking as much as he could possibly manage in the time he was allowed. The whole thing was a huge mistake as the moment he stopped drinking his stomach rebelled and quickly ejected what he'd just had, leaving him lying on his side panting.

Feeling himself grabbed again he was once more thrust back into the dark place he was being kept in, his captor was none too gentle and his head bounced off the floor causing him to groan. Danny was left ankles still bound and hands still tied behind his back but the rope connecting the two was not replaced.

Danny could feel a trickle of blood run down his temple from where his head had struck the ground. Really he just didn't care though. The feeling was returning to his legs, never had he thought pins and needles would be so painful. Then there was the increased level of his headache…

Ignoring all the pain and using the fact that it was now easier for him to move around Danny shuffled towards what he thought was the back of the place he was being held. Once he felt a solid wall behind him he managed to manoeuvre so he was sat back against it. The change in position from laying down to sitting up made his head spin and he was sure if it had been light enough to see the room would have been moving. Given the wall behind him and the texture of the floor beneath him Danny finally figured out that he must be in a cave, the entrance of which was either naturally hidden or had been camouflaged by his captors.

A cave, they weren't uniform, which meant there might be sharp areas, sharp areas that he could cut his ropes on! Despite feeling so unwell he started a systematic search of the wall and the floor that he could feel with his hands.

An exhausting but undefined amount of time later, he couldn't see his watch after all, Danny found a small but sharp piece of rock jutting from the wall behind him. Leaning forward and lifting his arms up at a very uncomfortable angle he started to saw the rope at his wrists backwards and forwards over the piece of rock. It seemed to take forever but eventually the rope holding his wrists together snapped apart and Danny carefully moved his arms round to the front of his body, biting his bottom lip at the pain it caused. He wanted to lay down right there and sob but he wanted out of this cave and away from the two men he'd seen more.

Of course, it did occur to him that just because he'd seen two men didn't mean there weren't more, but rather than sitting tied up in a cave waiting he was going to take his survival into his own hands and damn well fight for it. The same as Super SEAL would. Maybe Danny didn't have Steve's survival skills but he had something just as good in his eyes, a desire to survive this ordeal and go back to his daughter and ohana.

With renewed energy Danny worked his fingers until he got feeling back and then worked on the knots of the rope around his ankles. He completely ignored the rope burns and skin tears around both wrists and ankles; instead he concentrated on restoring feeling to his limbs. Once confident that he had enough feeling back he used the wall and pushed to his feet. Yes, he was wobbly, no, he probably couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag but he had stubbornness and the advantage of surprise on his side. The men didn't know he was now free. Using his new found mobility, and feeling very much like a toddler taking his first steps again, Danny moved around the cave, finding the best way to balance and looking for loose rocks that could be a potential weapon.

Groping blindly in the pitch black his hand fell on a solid good sized rock and he hefted it in his hands, getting used to the weight and finding the best way to hold it to use as a weapon. Finding the entrance, or exit depending on your point of view, Danny gently shifted the vines that were covering it. The sun was setting. Now he had to decide whether running around what he could clearly see was a forest, in the middle of the night or waiting till morning, was the most sensible idea. He could make out the form of two men in the lengthening shadows.

One of them made up his mind for him as he got up from where he'd been lounging and started towards the cave. Now it was then.

Holding his breath Danny waited for the man to pull back the vines, as the poor light from the dusk reached into the cave the man didn't see Danny pushed back against the wall to his left but he also couldn't see him laying where he expected to see him either. Grabbing a flashlight that was in his waist band the man shone it where he'd last seen Danny but had made the mistake of stepping into the cave slightly.

Taking the opportunity presented Danny brought the rock down on the back of the man's head using as much force as he could. Granted it wasn't as much force as Steve could use, in fact the SEAL probably wouldn't have needed a rock, hell it wasn't even as much force as Danny would normally use, but it was sufficient for the man to drop to his knees, dropping his flashlight which blinked out, but Danny was already taking a second swing and the rock made contact with the other man's skull again. There was the sound of breath being forced out of a body as he hit the floor and then silence.

Danny scrambled to find the flashlight figuring if he was going to be running around a dark forest he was going to need it, then retreated back to wait for the second man to appear. He didn't have to wait long.

"Bane? What ya doing man?" the deep male voice from earlier called, "Hey, Bane!" There was a grumble and then the distinct noise of movement as he headed towards the mouth of the cave.

Once again Danny stood ready and waiting for the man to step across the threshold. He wasn't disappointed. Stupidly the man shone his flashlight into the darkness and spotted Bane lying on the ground. Instead of checking for Danny, probably figuring that he was still tied up somewhere in the depths of the cave, he knelt next to his fallen comrade. The detective swung the rock, once, twice, connecting both times. The second man fell beside the first.

Danny's breathing was ragged from the effort, but he wasted no time and hurried to grab the second flashlight. Hurrying out of the place that had been his prison for god only knows how long he checked the back packs that the two men had. He grabbed one, making sure he had got all the water bottles and the few food items. That's all he took, there was no time for anything else as he heard a low groan coming from the cave. Throwing the back pack over his shoulder he entered the forest as the last ray of sun dipped below the horizon.

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono had been searching for a few hours but hadn't seen any sign of Danny or potential captors. The light was starting to fail and although they had flashlights, searching in the dark wasn't going to work as they could miss a sign that showed them which direction to go next.

Reluctantly the three team members took off their packs and pulled out the tightly rolled sleeping bags, water and some food. The food was simple, fruit and granola bars. They couldn't afford to light a fire in case it alerted someone to their presence.

"Steve?"

"Yeah Kono?"

"Do you really think we can find him out here?" her voice was uncertain.

Straining in the near dark Steve could just make out her form in the sleeping bag huddled the other side of Chin, "Yes, I do." The confidence in the SEAL's voice was reassuring to both Kono and Chin, "We'll each take a watch of two hours. I'll take the first one, then Kono, then Chin and then I'll go again."

"Split it up into two and a half hour slots you'll only have to take one watch then," Chin spoke for the first time in a while.

"I'm used to going without sleep for longer periods. Two hour watches," the order in his tone was unmistakeable and the other two capitulated without further argument.

Their night passed peacefully enough and Steve woke the others at first light. They rolled up their sleeping bags, drank some more water and ate some more fruit and a granola bar each then gathered their things and kept going east, hoping that today they'd find Danny. The longer he was missing the more likely it was that they weren't going to find him, alive at least. That was something none of them wanted to think about.

-5-0-

Danny had spent a restless night curled into the roots of a tree. He knew he hadn't gone far enough from his captors but didn't want to risk using the flashlights after the first hour in case they were spotted.

The night hadn't been cold but Danny was still suffering the effects of his migraine and being tied up so a steady shiver set in a short time before the sun started to rise above the horizon. The moment Danny could see his hand in front of his face, not an easy feat given that the aura of his migraine was worse than before; he was on his feet and moving. He hoped it was in the right direction but given he didn't even know where he was, though something told him it wasn't Oahu, there was no telling if his judgement was right.

Something was telling him to head down the slope, maybe it was the voice of Super SEAL or maybe it was just logic, either way that's what he did. He tried to keep his footsteps quiet, avoiding branches or anything that could possibly give away his position to the men that he was sure were now trying to find him in the cold light of day.

His gait was unsteady and he stumbled multiple times, resting frequently. The ache of his body had now become a constant companion, one he pushed to the back of his mind, instead dragging thoughts of Gracie and the team to the forefront. The pictures helped keep him going. Danny was confident that where ever he was the team was looking for him and wouldn't give up till he'd been found. Dead or alive. Of course he'd much prefer alive, even if he couldn't say well right now.

The sound of heavy footfalls in the distance, though too close for comfort, spurred him on. He could hear the cursing of at least two men. Gathering all the energy, and balance, he could muster he picked up his pace. It wasn't much but every little bit helped. He didn't know whether to be relieved or not when he finally saw the edge of the forest. Open space meant nothing to prop himself up on and that he could be easily spotted but it also meant, if he could stay upright, he could move quicker and was less likely to stumble over tree roots.

Reaching the edge of the forest the open space was actually not what he'd expected, though he didn't know why. This wasn't the sort of place where there were lots of fields; it was a rain forest after all. The open space was a narrow, rocky, strip, so much for not stumbling over anything since a lot of the rocks looked to be loose. On the other side of the strip the ground just seemed to end. Looking up Danny could see the ocean and listening he could hear the distant crash of waves against rocks. So, it's a cliff then. Definitely not going to head in that direction, he didn't want to make it too easy for the Neanderthals, nope, he couldn't use that term, it's what he called Steve and therefore to call them that insulted his partner. Morons, he'd settle on calling them morons, he couldn't make it too easy on them. If they find him they could just toss his body over the cliff and nobody would be any the wiser.

It didn't occur to him to question why they hadn't done that already, probably something to do with the fact that his brain right now would love nothing more than to shut down completely.

Decision made Danny stayed in the trees but kept the strip of rocky open ground in sight. If nothing else the rocks would make great ammunition. Sadly he didn't make it far before he stumbled and fell to the ground. There was no energy left to allow him to get back to his feet. Knowing that he needed to have a rest he settled for crawling into the open space and amassing a good amount of the rocks, he then crawled further into the trees and found what he hoped was a good place to hide, stacking his ammunition close by after a couple of trips. He could now add cut and grazed hands and knees to his list of woes but he didn't care. Minutes later he was dozing quietly.

He didn't know how long had passed but there were hushed voices nearby and they were heading in his direction. Hunkered down behind the big tree roots he was well hidden when the two men came into view, walking out in the open slightly, maybe so they could move quicker.

"He definitely came this way," one of the men, he thinks it's the one called Bane, was looking at the ground, probably seeing a broken branch or foot print that Danny inadvertently left behind.

There is some satisfaction when, as the pair scan the treeline, he can see dried blood on both their faces where it had run down from the wounds he'd caused. He felt no remorse, served the morons right for underestimating him, as all too many people did.

Danny gathered a couple of the rocks he had nearby and waited for the two men to get closer. The moment the pair became a threat he let the rocks fly at each of them. He played baseball and had always had great aim, even if it didn't have his usual strength behind the throw. Then of course there was the catapult his Dad had to confiscate when he'd broken the kitchen window practicing with it, not such a great shot that time!

Both men cursed loudly as a rock struck each of them in the chest. Well that had to hurt, Danny thought with great satisfaction. Neither man was intelligent enough to figure out which direction the rocks had come from and instead thought that shouting threats would get him to come out or reveal where he was, like he thought earlier, morons.

"Come out now and we won't hurt you," the one he knew as Bane said. What did the guy think he was, five?

"We'll take you back to the cave and give you some food and water," the other man said in what he must have thought was a calm and soothing voice, but was actually like listening to nails scraping down a chalkboard in Danny's opinion.

"Show yourself! If you don't it will be worse for you when we get hold of you," growled Bane. This pair of morons watched too many movies.

A noise behind Danny had him spinning round on his ass with a rock in his hand ready to throw; the sight that met his eyes caused his mouth to drop open and his eyes to fill with tears.

"Kono?" he asked in a whisper, not sure if he could trust his own eyes.

Moving quietly so she was kneeling in front of him she replied with a whisper of her own, "Yeah Danny, it's me," she looked at the rock that was still raised, "You can put that down now," reaching out she put her hand over his and lowered it. Her other hand reached up and touched his face lightly as if to reassure herself that he was really in front of her.

"Oh god," a small sob was out of his mouth before he could prevent it, but if Kono heard it she didn't let on. He allowed her to pull him against her slender body and hold him there. All she could feel were the trembles running through him, "Steve, Chin?" he asked in a voice so unaccustomed to being used that it was husky and low.

"There," she indicated the open area where the two morons had stepped further into the tree line. They were so intent that they didn't see the two men coming round behind them so quietly that their footsteps made absolutely no sound.

Steve's grin was feral as his arm slipped around Bane's neck and choked him into unconsciousness just as one of the men had done to Danny. Chin in complete synch with their boss subdued the other man with little effort; a blow to a pressure point in his neck dropped him immediately.

Kono helped a relieved Danny to his feet and pretty much supported his weight as she helped him out to the open area so that they could better assess his condition. When Steve saw his best friend he would have loved nothing more than to wake up the unconscious men and torture them in the most painful way he could imagine and as a Navy SEAL he knew quite a few ways.

He shook off the desire; Danny needed him more right now, he watched him stumble and Kono gently lowered him down to the ground again and rested his back against a rock that was covered by the shade of a giant tree.

"Kono, get on the radio, request a medevac and the Moloka'i police, we'll need their help getting these two back to Oahu."

Though she didn't want to leave Danny's side she had at least had a chance to touch him, hear his voice and feel him breathing. She had been reassured that he was still alive. Stepping back she allowed Steve room.

The SEAL immediately noted how pale, almost translucent, Danny's skin was as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves that he had retrieved from his back pack. There was dried blood on his temple and as Steve touched the area he could feel the lump underneath. Cleaning the cut he saw that it was small, likely wouldn't even require stitches, but with the blood removed the bruising was already pronounced. He gently placed a couple of butterfly strips across the cut. Moving down he noticed Danny's wrists and growled as he inspected the damage. Once again he cleaned them and put on a dressing. Danny indicated his ankles and it was all Steve could do not to get up and drag the two men that Chin had cuffed back to consciousness somehow and then throw them off the nearby cliff.

Danny reached out a hand and placed it on Steve's knee as if he sensed his desire to go off the reservation to deal with the two morons; it amazed Steve that despite having his eyes firmly shut Danny still knew what was going on in his head. Gently the SEAL treated his partner's ankles in the same manner as his wrists.

There was a multitude of cuts and scrapes on his hands and underneath the torn material of his pants but they were superficial. Steve was more worried by the fact that Danny didn't seem able to open his eyes.

"Danny," his voice was soft as if he was dealing with Grace instead of her father, "I need you to open your eyes for me."

"Can't," was the equally soft reply. Danny knew if he did the world would be spinning and he couldn't face the disorientation that it caused, "Migraine."

"Still?" Steve asked, even more concerned, "Will you try drinking some water?"

"OK," Danny acquiesced. He knew he was dehydrated which wouldn't help his migraine one bit. Steve held the bottle as he gently sipped. The bottle was removed so as not to overburden his system too soon. Unfortunately it didn't work and Danny leant over to the side as his body once again rejected the fluid he so desperately needed. Steve was right beside him, holding him, supporting him through the heaves that caused his battered and aching body to hurt that much more.

"Shhh, it's alright. I've got you."

"Arm and leg feel funny," mumbled Danny "Can't move them."

"Which side?" Steve was concerned at this turn of events.

"Left."

"Can you move them at all?" He watched as Danny managed to move them slightly but it was clear that there was reduced muscle strength, "Kono, how long until the medevac arrives?" he called out to her.

She spoke to Chin who jogged over, he's the only member of the team not to have had any interaction with Danny since they located him, now he needed to get close and see for himself how he was doing, "They should be here in fifteen minutes. The coast guard is coming and they'll transport him to Oahu for treatment as long as he's stable enough, otherwise he'll have to go the Big Island."

"Oahu would be better," Steve looked at Chin. They could protect Danny better there, not to mention Grace was there.

"How you doing Danny?"

"Tired. Feel weird."

"We'll have you out of here and in a nice comfortable bed before you know it brah," Chin rested his hand on Danny's shoulder as much to reassure himself as his friend.

Without warning Danny collapsed against Steve, "Shit!" slightly unsteady fingers reached for his carotid pulse and Steve was relieved to feel the weaker than normal, but still there, pulse. Chin had rested his hand on Danny's chest and was equally relieved to find his hand moving up and down.

"Are you going to go in the chopper with him?"

"I want to, but I also want to take those two and hang them by their ankles from one of the trees that actually overhang the cliff! There were four men at Danny's apartment; I want to know where the other two are!"

That got a small smile from Chin, "Danny wouldn't approve brah!"

"I dunno, I think in this case he'd make an exception," Kono joined in from where she was standing watch over the now stirring prisoners.

"The coast guard can probably take us all back to Oahu," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah but at least one of us needs to stay here with this pair," Chin gestured at the two men groaning on the ground where they'd fallen.

"Not if we hang 'em from a tree, they'll still be there when Officer Iona gets here!"

Both Chin and Kono wanted nothing more than to agree, because they did want to be with Danny so desperately. The other snag, of course, was that Steve was the only one able to pilot the chopper they'd borrowed.

The discussion was cut short for the time being as the coast guard helicopter came into view. The pilot skilfully manoeuvred the chopper to hover over the area despite the winds that battered it. A rope was thrown down and Chin grabbed it in order to steady the decent of the medic as they exited the craft. Another person appeared at the door so Chin remained in place and was surprised to see Officer Iona standing before him.

"I figured you'd all want to go back with your man. Jon will be here in about another thirty minutes with reinforcements to help me get this pair out of here. We'll hold them in custody here until you can arrange transportation back to Oahu."

"We really appreciate it, thank you," Chin's so relieved to know they can all go back with Danny. He'd talk to his friend and make arrangements for the chopper to be collected. Once they knew Danny was going to be alright then Steve would probably be happy to fly back to Moloka'i, collect the prisoners and return the chopper.

The older detective turned his attention back to the medic as she quickly assessed her patient. An IV was placed in the back of Danny's hand, oxygen mask over his face and with Steve, Chin and Officer Iona assisting she got him into the litter. The three mobile team mates were lifted into the chopper after thanking Keanu Iona for staying and then Danny was finally lifted with the medic and the pilot then turns towards Oahu and Queens Medical.

-5-0-

Doctor Jensen had spent the last hour assessing and treating Danny; now he approached the waiting room to speak to his friends. As usual they all stood to greet him before everyone sat down.

"Alright so starting at the bottom and working my way up, Danny has rope burns and lacerations to both ankles and wrists. The cuts aren't deep enough for stitches but there are signs of infection so we're giving him IV antibiotics. He has bruising round his throat but no swelling. There's a cut to his temple, again no stitches required, but there is an impressive bruise and lump, so it's no surprise he has a minor concussion. I understand that he has had a migraine for two days now and that's the cause of the muscle weakness he mentioned to you Steve. It's called hemiparesis and can be one of the symptoms of a specific type of migraine called a hemiplegic migraine; these can be brought on by head trauma. The hemiparesis will pass once the migraine resolves. Obviously Danny is dehydrated so we have him on IV fluids as well as the antibiotics I previously mentioned. We've given him a couple of injections of painkillers that will help with the headache symptoms and an antiemetic."

"How long will he have to stay in the hospital for?" Steve asked.

"Once he's regained consciousness and he can keep fluids down then we'll remove the IV and he can go home with oral antibiotics, painkillers and an antiemetic. The time that takes will be entirely up to Danny. Remember he's exhausted and been through a traumatic experience so it will take some time. You can go and see him if you like. He's been assigned a nice quiet room on a ward," Doctor Jensen smiled as he watched the team hurry off to visit their friend.

-5-0-

It was several hours before Danny stirred. Opening his eyes his first response was a groan as he realised he was once again in a hospital bed.

"Hey!" Steve leant over and smiled at him. Danny tried to reply but his throat was dry, "Think you can manage to keep down some water?" At his nod Steve filled a cup, placed a straw in it and held it to Danny's mouth, "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks," he still didn't sound quite like their Danny, but at least he could speak.

"How are you feeling?" Kono asked as she appeared at Steve's shoulder.

"Tired."

"And how's your head?" Chin wanted to know.

"Still hurts but not as bad. Vision's clearer."

"That's good."

"When can I get out of here?"

"Just woken up and you're already trying to escape?" Doctor Jensen asked good naturedly as he entered the room, responding to the nurse's page after Kono had slipped out to tell them Danny was awake.

"So?" he really wasn't in the mood to be polite. Every muscle ached and although his head felt better it still hurt. He was tired and grumpy which made him bad company.

"You finish that jug of water and manage to keep it all down then I'll release you," the doctor informed him, "You need to take it slowly though, don't try to drink too much at once."

"OK, thanks."

Doctor Jensen shooed the other members of the team from the room as he gave Danny the once over, "You're doing much better. The muscle weakness has eased a little."

"I wish the muscle aches would ease too," seeing the Doctor's questioning look he realised they didn't know he'd been hogtied, so given how painful his shoulders were he filled him in.

"Ah, I see. I'll prescribe some muscle relaxants to help with that," he made a note on the chart, "Once you've finished that water let one of the nurses know and I'll come back to give you a final check before I release you."

The doctor left and his friends returned to sit with him, even though all he was going to do was sleep. He tried to convince them to leave and get some rest but they wouldn't hear of it. Right now where ever Danny was, that was where they wanted to be.

-5-0-

**A/N: Hmm, still unresolved issues with who took Danny and what happened to those other two men. It will be explained, just not in the next story / chapter! lol**

**I would like to wish all readers / reviewers / alerters and their loved ones a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. x**


	19. S is for Suicidal

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own!**

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews / alerts and continuing to read. OK so there's good news, bad news and warnings.**

**Good news: Another loooong chapter.**

**Bad news: It will be the last for over two weeks because I'm away without proper internet connectivity and my laptop! I should have been in bed an hour ago as I have to get up in 5 hours but so desperately wanted to get this out tonight. Would have been out earlier but my central heating drama is turning into a saga and had to be sorted so delayed everything by about 6 hours. Good god could I moan any more? Sorry.**

**Warnings: This chapter contains mention of suicide (well yeah, see title) but it's NOT Danny or a member of the team, and child abuse. If this offends then SKIP this chapter! **

**On with the story and I'll 'see' you again in a couple of weeks. Take care till then. **

**S is for Suicidal**

It was a Friday afternoon and Danny Williams was just pulling up outside his daughter's school. For once it was just him in the car. No Steve McGarrett. He was off on some Army training weekend.

'_It's NAVY Danny,'_ he can almost hear his partner's protest and he grins at the thought.

Chin and Kono are still over on The Big Island after chasing down a lead on their latest case. They're due to return late that evening. That means Danny has a good chance of spending a whole evening with his little girl without being interrupted by well-meaning ohana or not so well meaning criminals. The Governor isn't likely to call him when he's the only available member of 5-0 unless it's the biggest shit storm Hawaii has ever seen and if that were the case Super SEAL would be hauled off his weekend of rolling in the mud and playing Action Man or GI Joe quicker than he could pull a pin on the grenade that he no doubt has in one of his cargo pants pockets!

Danny gets out of the Camaro, which he is happy to be driving for once, and stretches. It's been a long week and Steve has still not relented on his position in regards to Danny moving back in to his own apartment. That does mean though that he and Grace get to spend a weekend at the beach house without Steve. Danny is sure that the cousins will appear at some point but that's alright because he still has this evening.

His ruminations are rudely cut off by several shouts. Danny looks in the direction of several parents also waiting for their children to come running out to start their weekend. They're all pointing up at the roof of the building. When he looked up he could see someone was up there and it wasn't an adult. Danny moved towards the group so he could see what was happening, as he approached he recognised one of the teachers, Ms Kali; he pulled her to one side.

"Ms Kali, what's going on?"

"Oh, Detective Williams, one of the older girls has gone up on the roof and we can't get her to come down! She's threatening to jump!"

"What? How do I get up there? What's her name? How old is she?"

"I'll show you where you can go up, her name is Lani Amoy. She's fourteen."

"Have you called 911? What can you tell me about her?"

"Yes, we have. She's a quiet child, likes to keep to herself. Her parents are divorced. Father, Luka, is a Marine. Mother, Jemma, remarried a local businessman, Mano Victor. I haven't seen much of either of them since Lani started here two years ago."

Danny thought how familiar some of that sounded but he kept that to himself as they approached the stairs that would lead him to the roof.

"Can you please explain to Grace that I need to help another girl and keep an eye on her for me?"

"Absolutely Detective Williams, is there anyone you want me to call to come and get her?"

"She has the number of a friend, Kamekona, if she calls him he'll make sure someone is here for her," after all he couldn't contact any of 5-0, Rachel and Stan were off on yet another long weekend away so it was just him. Kamekona may walk the fine line between cops and criminals but he was essentially a good man and Grace had spent plenty of time with him.

"I will go and find Grace straight away."

"Thanks," Danny nodded and ran off up the stairs. A fourteen year old on the roof of their school building could not mean anything good. He could have waited for other emergency personnel to arrive but he's already on site and if she's planning to jump then she might just do it in the time it takes them to reach the school. This is one of those few situations where going in without back up is a necessity if it's not immediately available.

Carefully and quietly opening the door at the top of the stairs for the roof Danny steps through and slowly walks around the roof until he can see Lani perched on the apex. He doesn't want to startle her because that could cause her to slip, but he does need to let her know he's there.

Slowly edging his way up towards the apex, when he reaches it he sits down near her but not so close that she'll freak out or think he's trying to grab her, even if that is what he wants to do. Lani looks up and sees him as his feet scuff the roof when he sits.

"Leave me alone!" the eyes looking at Danny are a pale green, which are strangely at odds with her tanned skin and dark hair, which has been pulled back in a neat shoulder length ponytail. Those eyes are full of fear but also determination, they also look like they should belong to someone much older than fourteen.

Danny wishes he didn't need to know what caused her to have eyes older than her years or what has put the fear in them, but if he's going to get her down off this roof and somewhere safe he has to find out. If it's hard for him it will be even harder for her.

"Lani, my name is Danny, I'm a police officer."

"I don't care, leave me alone!"

"I can't do that Lani."

"Why?" the question is plaintive.

"Because I can see that you're hurting and I want to help," Danny's hands automatically raise from where their resting either side of him as if imploring her to let him.

"What do you care?"

"I have a little girl; she's nine and goes to this school too. I would like to think that if she was hurting and I wasn't here to help her that someone else would. That means when I'm in a position to try to help another little girl I will do my best to do it."

"I don't want your help!" her voice is hoarse, she's clearly been crying.

"Lani, I think you do want my help, or at least someone's," Danny keeps his voice soft, calm, even, "I believe this is your way of asking for someone to listen to you. I'm here to listen, if you'll let me."

"You're a stranger, you don't even know me. Plus I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"I know, I tell Grace, that's my daughter, the same thing, but I also tell her it's alright to talk to a police officer," he takes his badge off his belt to show to her, grateful that he didn't take it off and lock it in the car with his gun in the special safe that's fitted in the trunk, "It's also easier, sometimes, to talk to a stranger. I have no agenda other than wanting you to feel safe enough to come back down with me."

"It would take too long to tell you."

"Lani, I've got all the time in the world."

"What about Grace?"

Danny almost smiled, at least that told him she'd been listening to him, "Ms Kali is going to make sure she's alright and a friend will come and get her if necessary. I'm more worried about you right now."

"Why? Why would you worry about a teenager you don't know over your own daughter?"

"Grace has had to deal with a lot in her nine years. It's a long story, but I'll share some of it with you if you'd like me to."

Lani shrugs, giving all the appearance of indifference, but there's a spark of interest showing in those pale green eyes, "Whatever. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm originally from New Jersey; you know where that is right?"

He gets a stereotypical 'duh' look from Lani and it kind of reminds him of Steve and of what he has to look forward to from Grace when he's no longer the cool all-knowing Danno.

"Yeah, right, silly me," Danny smiles, "I met Grace's Mom and we fell in love, then Grace was born and I fell in love with her too. My job, being a cop, it's hard on families and Grace's Mom couldn't be with my when my job takes so much of my time."

"You divorced," it wasn't a question.

"Yes, we did, but I never, for one second, stopped loving Grace. In time Grace's Mom met another man and remarried. His business brought him to Hawaii, which meant my ex-wife and daughter came here too. I got a job working for Honolulu PD and moved my life here, away from my family but to be close to my little girl, the most precious thing in my life."

"What does that have to do with you worrying about me rather than her?"

"Grace has always known that she is number one on my priority list. She also knows that my job, helping people, keeping Hawaii safe for her and other children, is also very important to me and that there are times where that will impact our time together. This is one of those times. Grace is a smart girl; she knows I love her, no matter what I'm doing or where I am."

"You proved it to her by following her here," Lani points out perceptively.

"Maybe, but I also tell her every time I speak to her. I also know that there will come a time when sleepovers with friends will take over my weekends with her and she won't want to spend as much time with me but that won't mean she no longer loves or needs me, just that she's growing up." This is a conversation Danny has had with himself on numerous occasions. The reasons for the internal pep talk vary but the content is pretty much the same. Sleep overs, boyfriends, college, it doesn't matter where Grace is she knows he loves her and he knows that she loves him.

"You're both very lucky. Don't ever lose that," she sighs and her words are too old, too grown up to be coming out of her mouth. Surely at fourteen it should be all about boys, Danny shudders at this thought, clothes and make up.

"I am lucky. It was hard leaving my brother, sisters and parents behind, I have a huge family, but Grace is worth it."

"I miss my Dad," the words are filled with a heart wrenching sadness.

"Ms Kali tells me he's a Marine?" he receives a nod, "That must be so hard. I mean what he's doing is so worthwhile, but so often our service men and women leave their family behind to wait."

"I haven't seen him for nearly six months. He's in Afghanistan."

"My work partner," and Danny always puts the word work in now when he says partner to avoid people getting the wrong idea about him and Steve, "He was a Navy SEAL until the Governor asked him to lead a task force and he entered the reserves. I listen to stories, the ones he can tell me that aren't classified, and I hope that he never gets recalled, he's like my brother now and as annoying as he is I can't see my life without him."

"It's all I've ever known. When my parents were still together it was easier because at least when he was back home he was with us. Now when he comes home I only get a couple of weekends a month."

"Lani, I can guarantee you that it's as hard for him as it is for you, just in a different way."

Noises from behind them make Lani start. Danny has known for a while that there have been other people on the roof with them but they were clearly content to let him carry on with talking to the girl. Unfortunately someone made a noise and now Lani is tense again, Danny is worried that all the hard work may now have been undone. "It's alright Lani; they just want to make sure that we're alright. If I go and talk to them, ask them to move back, will that help?"

Lani nods her head seemingly unable to speak for the time being. Danny carefully gets up, careful not to slip on the tiles, and walks back towards the would be rescuers. There's a fairly long argument, well Danny would like to call it more of a discussion, about whether Danny should continue to speak to the girl or not. He tells them that he is starting to earn her trust and since he's been talking to her for a while now putting someone new out there really isn't a great idea. Someone in their wisdom tells Danny he isn't qualified for the job. The detective is quite proud that he doesn't just punch the guy out. In the end Danny wins when he threatens to call the Governor. It's not a card he's ever used before, but he has to admit it's quite nice to have it to fall back on when nobody is listening. Of course if Steve was here he'd probably have just dangled the moron off the roof for insulting his partner, so he should just be glad the SEAL is safely out of the way. There is a part, and it's only a small part mind you, that misses his gung-ho partner but Danny knows he can handle this with or without him but there is nothing quite like the McGarrett thousand yard stare to settle people down.

The other emergency personnel agree to back off as far as the door and not to come any closer unless Danny requests them to. Satisfied, at least for now, he returns to the much more important task of talking Lani, down off this roof.

Danny slides, less than gracefully, back into his original position, though he has actually managed to move a little closer without Lani realising.

"I'm sorry Lani. They just wanted to help. Now where were we?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters. If you're upset enough to be sitting on the top of the roof of your school then it matters a whole lot!"

"You're different."

"From?"

"Other adults, parents, you don't try to talk down to me, or tell me what I should do."

"It's not my place to do that. I'm not your parent, if it was Grace that would be different."

"So what is it your place to do?"

"To listen to you. Maybe make suggestions of how the problem can be resolved or suggest people that are qualified to help you. All I want, at the end of this, is for both of us to walk down from here together."

"I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for this."

"No, you won't. Everyone will just be glad you're alright."

Lani scoffed at that, "My Mother won't even know and if she did she wouldn't care. My step-father will be more worried about losing his free…" she stopped suddenly not wanting to go any further, "I'm more worried about what the school will do."

"I can speak to the school with you. They've got counsellors here that can help, I know they helped Grace. What were you going to say about your step-father?" alarm bells had rung loud and clear when she started to talk about him. There was a tone in her voice, fear, anger, maybe even defeat.

"I can't," Lani whispers.

"You can. Whatever is going on at home you can tell me. I promise that I will help you."

Tear filled pale green eyes meet sincere pale blue ones, "I'm scared."

"Will you let me come and sit next to you?" Danny was a little unsure about asking her but he needed to try. An emotionally distraught person on a sloping roof was not good. He was also aware that if her step-father was doing what he thought he was she may not want a man near her. Receiving a nod of consent he manoeuvred down the roof apex until he was sitting next to her. He was surprised when she leaned into him. Slowly he raised his right arm and draped it gently over her shoulders making sure that she didn't feel held down, "Alright?"

Sniffles and a damp patch forming on his dress shirt where she'd buried her face in his shoulder told him that she wasn't. The father in him just wanted to sob for this woman / child and her pain, the detective in him wanted to take the people that had caused her this pain and lock them up. Actually he'd prefer to shoot them but since that wasn't an option he'd have to settle for locking them up, that was the father and detective warring within him.

"My… my…" Lani was trying to get her words out through the tears.

"It's alright, take your time, I'm not going anywhere Lani," he reassured her.

"My step-father… he…," a ragged breath is taken in an attempt to gain the strength to tell this man what needs to be told, "touches me. I don't like it."

The last words are followed by another round of broken sobbing that has Danny's own eyes filling with tears. He doesn't even think just acts automatically as a father would to comfort their child; he places both his arms around her, being careful not to unbalance them, draws her close and whispers nonsense in her ear to try to calm her down.

"Have you told anyone else?" he asks once she's calmer.

"My Mother," she practically spits the words out through her tears, "She didn't believe me."

"I believe you and I'm going to help you. I swear," and Danny would. Once he was sure she was safe he was getting a warrant and going to arrest her so called parents. Then he would contact the Governor and ask him to pull some strings to get her father home.

"She hit me," now the flood gates had opened Lani was telling him everything. It was both a relief and a burden for both of them.

"I won't let her do that to you again. OK?" she nods her head and clings to him even harder. Danny can't understand how anyone can hurt something as precious as a child, no matter what their age.

"What happens now?" Lani was a little calmer but needed to know.

"We'll get up and walk downstairs. You'll need to go to the hospital," Danny watched her eyes go wide again, "Its routine in cases of this nature Lani," he soothed.

"Will you come with me?" the insecurity was there for anyone to see.

"Yes, I will," there was no hesitation, "I will need to check on Grace before we go, if that's alright?"

"Uh huh. You'll stay with me?"

"For as long as I can," he assured her. There were aspects of what she was going to go through that a female officer would be better placed to help her with, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it. His first priority was getting them off this roof, "Are you ready?"

"OK," her voice was wobbly but there was a hint of determination there too.

Danny stood and braced his feet either side of the apex before reaching down and helping Lani to her feet. Once she was up she turned to face back towards the stairs she'd come up but somehow managed to lose her balance and she slipped, the next thing Danny knows her hand has been pulled out of his and she's sliding towards the edge screaming.

In a move that came with no thought and would have Steve giving him the longest lecture he'd probably ever give if he could have seen it, Danny slid himself down the slope in what he would say was a controlled manner.

Just as Lani started to slide over the edge Danny reached out and managed to grab her left hand, bashing his right forearm hard into the guttering. The pain that shot up his arm made him want to let go but he pushed passed the instinct and reached his other hand down.

"Lani, give me your other hand sweetheart!" Danny called out, hoping to god that one of the rescue personnel by the door had actually been paying attention instead of sulking about seniority.

"I can't!"

"Yes you can. I can't reach it unless you reach for my hand!"

"No, I can't!" she screamed when she made the grave error of looking down.

"Don't look down, look at me. Now, give me your hand."

"I can't!"

"LANI!" his raised voice got her full attention, "Give me. Your. Hand!" he waved his left hand in front of him aware at this point that it was only by some miracle that he hadn't slid all the way off. There was the smallest of ledges at the bottom of the slope that he was laying lengthwise along, both arms and his shoulders hanging over the edge, one wrong move and they'd both crash to the ground below.

Taking a shuddering breath Lani finally did as Danny had ordered and reached up with her right hand. Danny took a firm grip of it in his left and started to haul her up. Of course the gods weren't done with him just yet and decided that he wasn't near enough having a stroke or a heart attack so the guttering that he was partially laying on gave way.

In order to grab on to the edge of the roof as he fell and hopefully keep them from becoming strawberry jelly on the sidewalk below, Danny had to let go of one of Lani's hands. There was no time to discuss it so he automatically dropped her left one of course that meant he was hanging on to a building by his right hand while his left hand gripped Lani firmly. His right forearm was also the one he bashed on the building as he caught Lani originally so holding their combined weight wasn't making it any happier.

There was great relief on Danny's part when help arrived. In what seemed like no time there were two men, attached to harnesses, now why didn't he think of that, coming over the roof edge. The first man took hold of Lani, though it was a struggle. A strange man grabbing hold of her out of the blue wasn't what she needed emotionally but she sure needed it physically.

"Lani! He's helping you. You gotta let him; I can't hold us both much longer." Danny called down. The second man was in the process of securing a rope around him but if Lani kept struggling Danny would lose the grip he had on her and the roof before he could finish tying the knots. Finally, allowing Danny's words to break through the fog of fear, she allowed the man to secure her and then the pair were lowered down to the ground with their rescuers.

Once on terra firma Danny would quite like to have kissed the ground, hell if Steve had been there he might even have kissed _him_, such was his relief. There was no time for that as Lani was shrieking and Danny had to intervene before things really got out of hand.

"Hey!" he called to the medics that were trying to help, but would seem to Lani like they were pawing her, "Give her a minute!"

"We need to assess both of you Sir," the medic wasn't one that Danny had seen before and seemed a little too cocky for his liking.

"You can't assess her if she's screaming at you! Give me a chance to calm her down!"

"Be my guest!" the medic shot back, a sneer on his face, clearly expecting that Danny wouldn't be able to do it.

Danny stood next to Lani and gently removed the rope that she was still attached to, returning it to their rescuers and thanking them profusely. The moment they were both free and Danny had turned back to her she threw herself at him and just hung on for dear life. The medic looked a little put out. Danny didn't give a crap. His hands ran up and down the trembling back as he whispered words of reassurance. Looking around Danny spotted someone.

"Ms Kali, can you come here please?" he called to the teacher.

"Are you alright?" her eyes searched both the student and the detective.

"A little shaken up but I think we'll be just fine. Lani, can Ms Kali stay with you for a few minutes while I go and find Grace?"

Warily she looked from him to the teacher before finally giving her consent. Ms Kali took his place, wrapping Lani in her arms protectively, shielding her from everyone.

"Grace is over by your car with your friend," she called over her shoulder.

Waving in thanks Danny hurried over to his little girl, "Grace!"

"Danno!"

A moment later he had both arms full of his nine year old daughter. He buried his face in her hair, just breathing in the scent of her soap and shampoo. "It's alright Grace, everything is OK now."

"You saved her!"

"You saw?"

"Yup."

"Your Mom is gonna kill me!"

"I thought you were really brave."

"Just doing my job Monkey, speaking of which…"

"You need to go with her don't you?" there was no accusation in Grace's voice.

"I do. She's frightened and she needs an adult she can trust, right now that's me," Danny looked at Kamekona, "Can you take her over to McGarrett's and keep an eye on her for me please? Chin and Kono aren't due back for hours and Steve's away for the weekend."

"Sure thing bruddah. Little haole and me will have lots of fun!"

Danny suddenly wasn't so sure about leaving his little girl and Steve's home in the care of Kamekona. Looking at Grace she just grinned, "Keep an eye on him for me?" he asked her pointing at the big man.

Grace giggled, "Sure Danno."

"I'll call when I know what's going on alright? I love you Monkey."

"Love you too Danno."

"Thanks Shamu," Danny said with a grin.

"No problem Jersey," the big man lumbered off to his jeep with Grace in his wake while Danny returned to Lani.

-5-0-

"I swear to god, you try to touch her once more and I will knock your head off your shoulders!" Danny growled at the medic he'd had issues with at the scene. Every time the man went near Lani she'd cling to Danny like he was going to disappear.

"I'm just trying to do my job, _sir_." The last word was given an edge that wasn't polite.

"She's terrified of you, leave her alone!" Danny wished he had his gun with him because right about now he'd quite happily take a leaf out of McGarrett's book of shoot first and ask questions later.

"I _need_ to check her vitals and assess her for injuries!"

"Seriously man, come near her again and I will not be responsible for my actions!"

The two men had been so busy arguing that neither noticed when the ambulance pulled up and the doors were swung open. The scene that met the doctor and nurse that had come out to meet the ambulance was nothing short of heading for a brawl.

Danny had positioned himself so he was sitting between the patient and the medic; the medic was towering over him trying to get to the patient. As they watch Danny tucks the girl behind him and the girl clings to him like he is the only thing between her and certain death.

"What the hell is going on here?" demands the doctor, again one that Danny has never seen.

"Your medic wants to touch a patient that doesn't _want_ to be touched! I'm just enlightening him as to the error of his ways!"

"Mr…?"

"Detective Danny Williams, 5-0," he introduces himself when prompted.

"I'm Doctor Vine. My medic is just trying to do his job!"

"She is terrified of strange men and you want me to let him touch her? I don't think so!"

Sighing Doctor Vine waves the medic out of the back of the ambulance. The insolent young man rolls his eyes and the doctor makes note to speak to him about how to treat traumatised patients, "Alright, well can we get this young lady inside please."

"Her name is Lani Amoy, she's fourteen and, no offence doctor, but I'd prefer someone I know dealing with her."

"Actually, Detective, I am perfectly capable of dealing with Miss Amoy," Doctor Vine is starting to see why the medic had such issues, it wasn't the patient in his view, but the Detective, "Now step out of the ambulance so that I can see to my patient."

Danny gives a shrug that says 'your funeral' and steps out of the ambulance. Lani is attached to him like glue and refuses to release his shirt. He wraps his arms around her protectively.

Doctor Vine isn't a bad doctor but he's got a lot of patients in his ER that need his help and he needs to get Lani settled and assessed so he can provide her with the right care. In trying to do this he's a little too brusque with her.

"Right, come on. We're not going to hurt you here," he tries to hold her arm to usher her into the ER and is rewarded by a shrill shriek. The doctor and the nurse recoil back.

Danny is on his last nerve; in fact it's the very end of his last nerve, "That's it! If Doctor Jensen is in this building today I want to see him. NOW!" he knows he's being unreasonable but every single one of the medical people Lani has come into contact with so far has frightened her, unintentionally maybe, but they've done it none the less. He thinks he can get her to speak to Doctor Jensen because he can vouch for him.

Doctor Vine blusters and tries to tell Danny that it's not necessary but the detective isn't having any of it. His priority is Lani, not people's egos. He'll apologise later once he has Lani settled.

"Fine," Doctor Vine turns and goes inside to speak to the receptionist at the desk. Danny just hopes Doctor Jensen is in the building, "He's in and being paged."

"Thank you," Danny tries to convey his gratitude but having just practically shouted at the poor man he doesn't think he manages very well, "Lani, I've asked for a doctor that I know to come and see you. His name is Doctor Jensen and I think you'll like him, alright?"

"You'll stay with me?"

"Of course, I said I would," the trust in those eyes would melt glaciers.

"OK then."

Danny stands with his arms wrapped protectively around Lani. He watches the familiar face of Doctor Jensen approach.

"Danny?"

"Doctor Jensen, this is a friend of mine, Lani Amoy, I was wondering if you could help us?"

"Well I'm not a paediatrician but I'll do what I can," there's something in Danny's eyes he's never seen before but he imagines that if someone had hurt his daughter this is what he would look like, "Why don't we go to one of the cubicles so we can have some privacy?"

Danny looks at Lani and is relieved when she nods. They follow the doctor and, after speaking to the admitting desk, he finds a room free that's at the far end of the ER away from the general hubbub.

"Lani, is it alright if I call you that?" Doctor Jensen asks politely, he receives a nod, "Thank you. Why don't you go and take a seat on the bed, Danny and I will be just outside here if you need us, OK?"

"OK," she reluctantly pulls away from Danny and shuffles over to the bed.

Once they're a safe distance away Doctor Jensen turns to the man he now considers a friend as well as a patient, "What's going on? The word around the hospital is that you disrespected a paramedic and a doctor!"

"The medic wouldn't stop touching Lani after I asked him not to, he could see she was scared of him but did nothing to try to reassure her. I shouldn't have lost my temper with Doctor Vine and I'll find him to apologise later, but it's been a helluva afternoon."

"Tell me," Doctor Jensen motioned to a couple of chairs against the wall. The two men sat and Danny filled him in, "Poor thing, an abusive step-father and mother, her father in Afghanistan. I can see why she'd latch on to you."

"I need to be able to leave her in the care of people I trust while I go and get a warrant to nail the people that are supposed to look after her. I trust you Doctor Jensen. Is Eve in today as well?"

"Yes, she is."

"I trust her too, any chance…"

"I'll request her. It's nearing the end of her shift but I'm sure she'll stay on for a little while."  
>"Thanks Doctor Jensen."<p>

"Danny it really is time you call me Henry!"

"There just seems something so inherently wrong about calling a doctor working in a hospital by his first name when you're his patient!"

"That's probably because most patients that come in for ER treatment don't come in as often as you!" chuckled the doctor. "Come on, let's go back to Lani."

"OK… Henry," Danny replies, trying it on for size, "Nope, it's gonna take some getting used to!"

The doctor chuckles as he enters the room first. He spoke to Lani softly with Danny watching. By the time he was finished with as much of the exam as he could do at the moment Lani was much calmer. Doctor Jensen had discussed with Lani the need for a special examination and that there would be a special female nurse to do that with her. Danny told her that he had arranged for a very nice female HPD officer to come and sit with her. There was a little alarm at that but once Danny explained he needed to go to the station and help take her mother and step-father somewhere so they couldn't hurt her again she calmed down.

"I like Doctor Jensen," she said softly to Danny as they waited for the female officer to arrive.

"Don't tell him, but so do I!" Danny grinned at her.

"He said you get into a lot of trouble."

"Well, he's not wrong about that, I'm kind of accident prone," he used the vaguest explanation he could think of not wanting to go into detail.

There was a knock at the door and a female officer Danny knew stuck her head round, "Hey Danny, I understand there's a young lady here that needs my help?"

"Hi Ani, yes, this is Lani Amoy, did Doctor Jensen fill you in?"

"Yes, he did," she smiled at the girl on the bed.

"Lani, this is Officer Ani Kale, she's a friend of mine," that was probably stretching it a little bit but Lani needed reassurance.

"Hello Lani, you can call me Ani, otherwise it's a bit of a mouthful!" Ani approached the bed and slowly held her hand out for the frightened girl to take.

Looking at Danny and getting a nod, Lani reached out and took Ani's hand, "Hello Ani," she gave the woman a tentative smile.

"Danny, Kai is waiting for you outside," she nodded her head to the corridor.

"Alright, thanks Ani. I need to go now Lani, but I'll be back later to see how you're doing. Ani will stay with you but if you need anything she has my cell number, OK?"

"OK."

Danny leaned forward and gave her a gentle one armed hug before squeezing Ani's arm in thanks and leaving to find Officer Kai Kealoha.

-5-0-

"Danny," Kai called him over.

"Hi Kai. How you doing?"

"I'm good thanks, you?"

"I'll be better when we get these people locked up where they belong! Do you have the warrants?"

"Right here," Kai tapped the pocket they were in.

"Let's go," Danny strode with him out of the hospital to the patrol car. Reaching for the door with his right hand he knocked it and hissed.

"Danny? You alright?"

"Yeah, just bruised my arm when I grabbed Lani," he explained.

"Did you get it looked at?"

"It's a bruise Kai!"

"Uh huh. Maybe you should get it checked before we leave."

"Are you in league with Doctor Jensen? I've got to come back later to check on Lani anyway so if it's bothering me I'll see someone then. Good enough?"

"Fine," the officer shrugged knowing he shouldn't bother arguing and wishing that Steve, Kono or Chin was there to force him to get checked out.

The ride to the Victor's house was silent. Danny was trying to make sure things were done by the book. He knew who Mano Victor was and he had money. The detective aimed to make sure that money wasn't going to get him out of this situation or his wife for that matter.

When they arrived outside the Victor mansion the gates were closed and nobody could be seen.

"Should I radio for back up?"

Desperately wanting to get in there but very aware of the lectures he had made Steve sit through on numerous occasions he nodded his head. They had a warrant and if the Victors were home the more officers the better. The house was large and they had a warrant to cover searching the house for further evidence of abuse and neglect. Danny personally wanted someone to get their hands on the computers.

While Kai organised a couple of units for back up, Danny called the Governor and provided an update. He was as incensed as Danny at the treatment of Lani. He had promised his detective that he would find out what unit Luka Amoy was with and track him down. Then he would attempt to cut through the red tape and bring him home, his daughter needed him.

The two other units arrived, each with two officers. Danny explained that they were going to request access through the intercom, no Super SEAL with a grenade to just bust the damn gates open after all, and if there was a failure to comply they would open the gates by force.

Danny pressed the bell on the intercom and when it was answered he introduced himself. The gates swung open immediately, of course Danny had omitted to tell them he had a warrant, he'd merely told them it was in relation to Lani.

As the three cars pulled into the driveway and the six officers, including Danny, exited the vehicles, the detective instructed two officers round each side of the house while he and Kai continued up to the house. The front door opened and Danny could only assume the woman before him was Jemma Victor. She was too well dressed to be a maid or housekeeper. He was surprised since he could see very little resemblance between her and Lani.

"Detective Williams, how can I help you?"

Danny stepped forward, "Officer Kealoha," he indicated the man next to him, "and I would like to speak to you about your daughter."

"She's not home from school yet, in fact she's late."

"Does it not worry you that your daughter isn't home yet?"

"No. Lani does her own thing."

A gentle hand on his arm from Kai kept Danny from jumping through the door and strangling the woman before him, "Is your husband home?"

There was a moment's hesitation before she answered, "No, he's at a meeting."

"Well you won't mind us coming in and looking around will you?"

"Why? I think you should wait until Mano comes home," her voice had become a little high pitched and grated on Danny's now non-existent nerves.

"Mrs Victor, I have a warrant here to arrest you and your husband as well as search your premises," his patience was gone, "you can either co-operate or I will have you dragged out of here in handcuffs kicking and screaming, your choice!" He gave a nonchalant shrug. Personally he quite liked the kicking and screaming option.

"This is outrageous! Arrest us on what charges?"

"Officer Kealoha will be delighted to inform you of that as he reads you your rights," Danny stepped out of the way allowing Kai to reach forward and pull the woman across the threshold with what might have been a smile of satisfaction. Danny watched as Kai arrested her and placed her in the back of the patrol unit and then re-joined his temporary partner.

They both crossed into the large ornate entrance hall. Danny was disgusted even his new apartment would fit in it three times over. It was so often the bad parents that had the money, admittedly not all the time. Rachel wasn't a bad parent, he would admit that on pain of death out loud but she would never treat their daughter the way Jemma Victor had treated Lani, in fact he was sure that Stan wouldn't even treat Grace that way.

Kai radioed in to state they had one in custody and were still searching the premises for Mr Victor when a ruckus from out the back caused both men to run out the front and round, it was quicker considering they didn't know the way through the house.

When they rounded the corner they found the other four officers struggling with two men on the back lawn.

"What's going on?" demanded Danny.

"We were checking round the sides and back as you instructed when these two ran separate ways across the lawn," one of the officers replied, "We called out but they resisted."

"Get them up!"

Once both men were standing he could see neither was Mano Victor, "Where's your boss?" The only response Danny got was a smirk, "Arrest them for obstruction," he shouted over his shoulder as he took off back towards the house, Kai on his heels.

Back in the front drive they spotted a man just exiting the house and Danny knew immediately this was who they were looking for. Coward had his employees covering for him while he made his getaway, "Mano Victor, 5-0, freeze!" Danny took great delight in pulling his weapon.

"Excuse me?" Mano pretended to be surprised.

"Kai, check him for weapons," Danny instructed still covering his partner.

The young officer did as requested and shook his head when he was finished, much to Danny's disappointment, he would have liked to add a weapons charge. Holstering his weapon Danny approached him as Kai stood to the side.

"Mano Victor, you are under arrest for child abuse, child neglect and anything else I can add to the list once we've searched your house," Danny peered up at the man who stood at least a foot taller and was as broad, he didn't flinch as the man growled at him, "You have the right to remain silent…"

Danny was cut off from reading Victor his Miranda rights by the man launching at him. He grabbed the detective's right forearm with both hands and swung him by it to knock him off balance. Danny felt something give and white hot pain shot up his arm, but he wasn't about to let this oversized paedophile get away. Danny pulled back his left fist and smashed it, full force, into the man's nose. He cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, blood pouring from his now mangled nose.

"Kai, read him his rights and get him out of my sight!" growled Danny. He watched Kai do as requested and cradled his right arm against his body. Pulling back his button down shirt sleeve he cringed. If there wasn't something wrong with it before, there was now!

Shaking his head Kai called in for further officers advising that they now had four prisoners in custody and he would need to take Detective Williams to the ER.

Danny looked up at this and was about to argue but Kai beat him to it, "You go to the ER in my unit or in an ambulance, I don't care how but you're going and if you still refuse then I will call the Governor!"

The rest of 5-0 would have doubled over laughing at the look on Danny's face at being spoken to so forcefully by the young officer. Clearly he had been spending too much time around 5-0 recently.

"Fine, once the other units arrive and the scene is secure."

Kai nodded his agreement and while they waited he pulled the first aid kit out of the back of his patrol car and put together a sling to support Danny's damaged forearm.

-5-0-

"I just want to check in on Lani first," Danny told Kai as they entered the ER again.

"Five minutes then I'm calling Doctor Jensen, the Governor _and_ Steve."

"Good luck with the last one!" quipped Danny before heading to where he last saw Lani.

"That's it," grumbled Kai. Not taking any chances with Danny's health he called the Governor anyway. He promised to get on the phone right away to ensure that Danny received prompt treatment. Ah, Danny was gonna be so mad at him, but it really was for his own good. He was Danny's temporary partner and he couldn't begin to imagine the tongue lashing he'd take if he didn't ensure he was looked after.

Danny knocked on the door to the small cubicle and waited. Ani opened it and peered out at him, her eyes wide when she saw the sling.

"Don't ask. How's Lani doing?"

"See for yourself," Ani replied opening the door wider to allow him in.

Entering the room Danny saw the girl sitting on the bed having something to eat and drink. The examinations were clearly over and she was a lot more relaxed.

"Hey Lani! How's the food?"

"Danny! Its…" she stopped the moment she looked up at him, "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing, just a bit of a bruised arm, but my partner for the afternoon, Kai, wanted me to get it checked out," Danny waved his left hand about to emphasise his point, "but I wanted to check on you first."

"I'm fine. Ani's been lovely…" she trailed off, biting her bottom lip.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Danny perching on the side of her bed.

"Are Mom and my step-father in a lot of trouble?"

"Yes, they are. Kai arrested both of them and they're now down at HPD being interviewed."

"What's going to happen to me now?" tears filled her pale green eyes once more.

"Have you got any other family?"

"No, just Dad."

"I spoke to the Governor and he's trying to get hold of your Dad's boss to see what can be arranged. Once I get out of here we'll sort out where you're going to stay until your Dad can get home."

"Can't I stay with you?"

"Oh honey, I wish you could. I live with my work partner, Steve, at the moment. Remember I told you about him, he's the SEAL. Then there's my job," he watched her face fall and decided to take a leap of faith. His partner was going to string him up when he found out but he couldn't put this girl in the system after what she'd been through, "Look, Steve's away this weekend, when I get out of here I'll speak to the right people and see if you can at least stay with me over the weekend, OK? Then we'll talk to some people on Monday."

A throat cleared from behind them, "You're assuming a lot there Danny."

"Ah, Doctor Jensen, er, Henry, I was going to come and find you in a minute."

"I'm sure you were but the Governor called me to tell me you needed treating so I came in search of you. Wouldn't want you getting lost would we?"

Lani giggled as Danny blushed and Doctor Jensen winked at her. The detective spotted Kai loitering in the hall way and gave him the evil eye.

"Oh no, don't you go blaming him. He gave you five minutes and I saw you sneak in here ten minutes ago! Now move it, I've got a room ready and waiting so I can examine you," he directed his thumb over his shoulder.

"Sorry Lani, looks like I've got to go." Danny leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, "You should never mess with a Doctor they might stick you with something sharp and painful!"

"I heard that!"

"Not you Henry!" he winked at Lani before waving and following Doctor Jensen out to another room.

"Right, let's see what you've done this time," the tone was long suffering.

Sitting up on the bed as instructed Nurse Eve, who always seemed to be around whenever Doctor Jensen was, helped Danny off with the sling and his shirt. The doctor took one look at his arm, rolled his eyes heavenwards and spoke to Eve, "X-rays."

"Yes doctor," she went to arrange it and was back just a few minutes later with a wheelchair.

"I can walk."

"That's as maybe but you're going down in the wheelchair. Go!" Henry Jensen was normally a patient man, he had to be dealing with 5-0 all the time, but Danny was pushing it today.

Before long Danny was back in his cubicle and there was a tap on the door when he looked up Kamekona stood in the door way and behind him Danny could just make out two little legs.

"Hey bruddah, I hears you got yerself into some trouble. I thought I'd bring the little one down to see you," he stepped aside to allow Grace into the room.

"Danno!"

"Hey Monkey. I'm fine, I've just bumped my arm and Doctor Jensen needs to look at the x-rays to make sure I didn't do too much damage."

She sat up on the bed next to him, "Does it hurt?"

"Maybe a little, but I bet a hug from you would make it _all_ better."

Grace was happy to oblige and carefully knelt on the bed so she could give her Dad a hug without knocking his injured arm.

"Ah, hello Grace, Kamekona," he smiled at both his patient's visitors, "Could you wait outside a moment please."

Kamekona nodded and took Grace's tiny hand in his huge one. The man dwarfed the little girl but he was incredibly gentle with her.

"Well you've really done it this time!"

Suddenly Danny felt like he was ten again and just come back from school with a black eye after getting in a fight with a couple of boys bigger than him, "What'd I do?"

"Kai tells me you fell off the roof rescuing Lani earlier and banged your arm."

"I didn't exactly fall off the roof," he was using a Steve deflection technique, it didn't work.

"Hardly the point Detective Williams!" Now Danny knew he was in trouble, it was like when his Mom called him Daniel, "You struck your arm while grabbing on to a fourteen year old girl sliding off a roof. The additional weight as your arm struck could have caused damage to your forearm! Had you mentioned the injury at the time I could have checked it and might have been able to do something about the fractures in your radius and ulna. As it is the further pressure that was put on the bone during an altercation with a suspect, don't deny it, I have an eye witness account, has caused both bones to break and you'll now need surgery!"

"Surgery?"

"Yes, plates and pins, both bones."

"I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I've got nobody to look after Grace, Kamekona is a great guy but asking him to look after her for a few hours is a bit different to a night. Not to mention I told Lani she could spend the weekend with me."  
>"Try three nights."<p>

"Three?"

"Are you going to keep repeating everything I say?"

"Only if I don't like what you're saying!"

Doctor Jensen pinched the bridge of his nose, "You'll have the surgery this evening and will need to be monitored for twenty four to forty eight hours, if the drains come out after twenty four then you could potentially go home tomorrow night, if not it will be Sunday."

"Shit."

Danny hadn't noticed Grace squeal, he was busy concentrating on the news that had just been delivered, or hear the door to the room open.

"You can say that again!"

The doctor and the detective both looked up and did a double take. Standing in the examination room was six foot one of Navy SEAL bedecked in camouflage paint and clothing. The hands on the hips were an interesting touch.

"Steve?" Danny had to make sure, because really, this was the first time he'd seen him in all out SEAL gear.

"Yes Danno, I know the camouflage paint is good but even you can tell it's me surely?"

"I was just surprised to see you here! You're supposed to be somewhere in the wilds romping with your SEAL buddies in the mud!"

"Firstly Danny, SEALs don't romp! Secondly, I _was_ out on an exercise with some SEALs, hence the camouflage gear, but my CO for the weekend got a call on the SAT phone from the Governor. Guess what that was about?"

"I couldn't possibly say."

"Imagine my surprise when my CO calls me over and tells me I need to get my ass to Queens Hospital to and I quote here Danny, 'sort your wayward partner out before he discharges himself or something equally ridiculous'! I can't leave you alone for a weekend? _One_ weekend! What happened?"

"Well there was this girl, she was sitting on the roof of Grace's school…" and so the whole sorry story came out.

Steve stood, mouth agape, shaking his head, "That's the last time I go away when both Chin and Kono are away too!"

"Hey, come on. I was off duty!"

"And yet, once again, here we are! Well having been pulled off the exercise for a 'family' emergency I can now take care of Grace and _you_ can have the operation!"

"Um.."

"Oh god, what?" Steve recognised the sheepish look he was getting and was that… Oh my god, yes it was, Danny was using his very own version of puppy dog eyes!

"I kind of promised Lani I would pull some strings and she could stay with me this weekend!"

"You… What?"

"I didn't _know_ I was going to end up in hospital. Steve, she's scared and alone. Her Dad's a Marine. The Governor was trying to get hold of him and hadn't been able to and I couldn't see her go into foster care when she was already so traumatised. She trusts me and I wanted to be there for her…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take a breath! Jeeze! Danny, she doesn't even know me. It's _you_ she trusts."

"Will you meet her at least, please?"

Steve releases the biggest sigh he thinks he's ever managed. Danny talks about the effect Steve has on his life expectancy, how about the effect Danny has on his? "Fine, I'll meet her."

"Er, can I make a suggestion gentleman?" Doctor Jensen had been quiet throughout this exchange knowing it was best to let the two men sort it out. Whoever was in the bed refusing treatment always ended up getting it in the end any way. Steve raised an eyebrow in question, "You might want to shower and change!"

"Oh, yeah. Get him prepped for surgery and I'll be back shortly."

"I'd like to see him get that crap off during a three minute army shower!"

"I heard that Danny, its _NAVY_ and I can thanks to years of practice!" Steve's voice trailed away as he walked down the hall. Grace entered again with Kamekona while Doctor Jensen finished making the arrangements for Danny's surgery.

As promised Steve was back in no time and Danny asked the still loitering Kai to get Ani and Lani. Kamekona had left leaving Grace with Steve. There was a tentative knock on the door a few minutes later and Ani came in with Lani gripping her hand.

"Hey Lani," Danny held out his left hand to her and she ran to the bed and grabbed it.

"Are you OK?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I've got a couple of broken bones, nothing serious. Doctor Jensen is going to fix me up, but I have to have an operation."

"Oh."

"There's some people I'd like you to meet," Danny waved Steve and Grace forward, "this is my daughter Grace, and remember I told you about my partner?"

"The SEAL?" she asked softly.

"That's right; well this is him, Steve, meet Lani."

Steve saw why Danny had become so attached to this girl. Her eyes really were the windows to her soul, everything she was feeling flashed through them, uncertainty, fear of a stranger and curiosity too. He hunkered down, just as he does with Grace when he wants to speak to her directly, "Hi Lani, it's nice to meet you."

Lani rocks back and forth but smiles shyly, "Hi."

"Did Danny tell you he's been staying with me?"

"Uh huh."

"Well he told me that he'd like you to stay with him while the Governor locates your Dad. He's going to be in here for a day or two, but I'll be home now, would you like to come and stay with me?"

"It's right on the beach," Grace pipes up finally taking the bull by the horns and overcoming her own reticence.

"Really?"

"Uh huh and Uncle Steve is great in the water and builds sandcastles with me too."

"Would you mind me staying Grace?" and those words almost took both Steve and Danny's breath away. She'd been through so much and yet she was still conscious of what Grace might want.

"It'd be good to have another girl to play with!" Grace states enthusiastically.

"So how about it Lani?" Danny prompts.

"Yes, please."

The sigh of relief is palpable and Steve knows he'll have his work cut out with a nine and fourteen year old with no Danny, but the cousins will be back tonight so he'll rope them in to helping.

Doctor Jensen returns and wants to talk Danny and Steve through his procedure and recovery, so Ani and Kai take the girls back to Steve's house after it's been agreed they can both come back to see Danny the next day. Steve will stay until Danny is out of surgery and settled in a room.

The doctor launches in to his explanation, "The surgeon, who will not be me, will make two incisions in your arm, one will be on the side in line with your little finger and the other will be on the underside. The bones will be correctly aligned and then fixed with steel plates and screws. After the operation a dressing will be applied and your arm will be placed in a sling. The arm needs to be elevated to reduce the swelling. You'll have a patient controlled analgesia pump to help with the pain. The wounds will have a drain and they will be removed anywhere between twenty four and forty eight hours after the operation. The stitches will come out ten to twelve days after. You can remove your sling to wash but need to wash around the dressings for the first ten days. You won't be able to drive until you can move your arm properly, so that will be about six weeks after your operation…"

"No change there then!" mumbles Danny.

"You can return to light duty," Doctor Jensen continues as if Danny never spoke, "after three to four weeks, anything further will probably be between two and three months but will be assessed as you heal."

"Wow, information overload," Danny looks a little overwhelmed and not too happy about the time frame he's been given.

"It will all be repeated to you at various stages, but I thought you should know the recovery time before hand."

"But there's no alternative?"

"Nope and not getting it done isn't an option; it would cause long term issues for you."

"OK," Danny sighs in defeat.

"I'm going to have three kids to look after," gripes Steve, thinking about dealing with a post-operative Danny, Grace and now Lani too.

"Ha! Now you know how I feel on a regular basis. Between you, Kono and Grace you keep me on my toes!"

"We're going to take him down now, Steve you can wait in the OR waiting room."

"OK, thanks Doctor Jensen. Danny, I'll be here when you wake up."

Danny nods, "Oh and Steve?"

"Yeah Danno?"

"Thanks for ditching the mud romping and taking in Lani."

"Only for you Danny, only for you."


	20. T is for Trampled

**DISCLAIMER: In the three weeks I have been absent my attempt to take over CBS and the rights for Hawaii Five-0 failed so I still don't own them!**

**A/N: I'M BACK! Well duh, of course I am since I'm posting. Ahem. I am sorry this is later than I anticipated, flying to the other side of the world and back in two weeks had some unforeseen side effects. I want to say thank you so much to those reviewing / alerting and just reading, it's great to know there are people out there enjoying what I write. That said I'm really not sure about this chapter. I don't know if it's because I hand wrote it with no internet access and no research or what but not sure if I like it, but it's what I've got so I thought I'd post it and let you decide. I hope it's not too terrible. Next chapter should be ready in a few days.**

**T is for Trampled**

Danny was enjoying a rare day off during the week. His ex-wife had called to say there was an excursion for Grace's school. They were taking her class and several others to a local fair for local art and culture set up in a park. The school were looking for parents to go and assist with keeping an eye on the students.

Danny had asked to be able to be more involved with Grace's activities both in and out of school so when Grace had come home with the letter Rachel had called him. Danny had then spoken with Steve. This was made easier by the fact he was _still_ staying at Chez McGarrett as Steve _still_ wouldn't let him move back to his own apartment.

This had been going on for three months now and every time Danny brought up the idea of returning Steve vetoed it. Danny had said all along that it was mad to pay rent on a place he wasn't using. Steve suggested he break his lease and move in with him permanently. Danny had vetoed that idea. Still the detective couldn't afford to pay for his apartment plus pay Steve rent given his salary and the bills, including child support.

After much negotiation between the two equally stubborn men it was agreed Danny would only pay towards the grocery bill.

This was only after Steve pointed out that he was the one preventing Danny from going back to his apartment.

Danny had countered that with the fact it wasn't Steve's fault some psycho wanted to maim him.

Steve's return volley stated that it wasn't Danny's either. The issue arose because of the job and therefore, as his boss, he was ordering protective custody; that could either be at his house, with some degree of freedom, or in a safe house that he would request from HPD via the Governor.

Danny had thrown his hands up in the air and ranted about the futility of spending the tax payer's dollars on a safe house for an indeterminate, but probably lengthy period, just for him.

Steve had been quite indignant at that last comment. He took great pains to point out all the good Danny had done since moving to Hawaii, both as part of HPD and 5-0. In any case it didn't matter, Danny's life was worth it and he had two choices; stay with him or go to a safe house.

Chin and Kono had made themselves scarce during the heated debate, not wanting to be put in the middle. They could see the argument from both sides.

Left to sort it out and after much toing, froing and hand waving, the latter from Danny, they agreed. Danny would have to buy groceries if he was in his own apartment, of course he'd pay electric and other utilities too but Steve didn't think two people would use that much more; he also wanted Danny to have some money to be able to spend in his free time with Grace whenever he could. Steve was still conscious of the safety factor so would check, or get Chin or Kono to check, any places Danny might want to take his daughter.

When Danny mentioned going to the fair Steve had checked it out and signed the requested leave slip once he was satisfied the event wasn't a likely target for Warner. It was way too public and open; Warner tended to be devious and liked less populated areas.

There had been much eye rolling and gesticulating from Danny as his frustration had reached boiling point. Numerous occasions he felt it necessary to remind the SEAL that he was a trained police officer and not totally incapable of looking after himself.

Steve, of course, knew this and part of him knew he was being over protective but not knowing where Warner was had him on high alert.

The long and short of it was that Steve approved the leave and Danny was now playing chaperone to his daughter's class along with her teacher and four other parents.

Danny smiled as he watched Grace gathered with her classmates around her teacher. He stood a short distance back so he was out of the way but could still see all of the kids. His eyes were constantly scanning the area, a parental habit only accentuated by his cop instincts.

He'd just scanned the edge of the crowd when he noticed four men strangely dressed given the heat of the day. Long dark macs, baseball caps pulled low over their eyes… It was mere seconds later that he saw them pull automatic weapons out from under the long coats.

Danny reached for his own weapon on instinct but he hadn't put it on that morning as he was going to be out with the school, the last thing he wanted was a group of nine year olds asking to see his gun!

"Everybody get down!" he yelled even as he started to move towards the children.

The sound of gunfire split the air before he could get even half way. The gun men were behind the group which meant they were facing Danny. The crowd gathered all panicked and started to run, which meant Danny was going against the flow of people.

"Grace!" Danny tried to make himself heard over the noise without success. He lost sight of her as he was shoved like a ping pong ball between people before finally losing his balance and being knocked off his feet.

Lying on the floor he tried to get to his feet but someone stamped on the fingers of his right hand causing him to snatch it back. Knocked once again flat to the ground someone else stomped across his lower back. It felt like hours to Danny but after a few minutes the gunfire stopped and a space finally cleared enough to enable Danny to get to his feet. Pushing up with his uninjured hand he stumbled to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand and back he frantically started looking for Grace and the rest of her class. While his eyes scanned the throng of people his hand immediately felt in his pocket for his cell. Unfortunately being right handed it was in his right pants pocket. Gritting his teeth against the pain he pulled it out and using his left hand he dialled the only people he would trust with his and Grace's lives.

"McGarrett," the response was terse which meant Steve hadn't checked the caller ID.

"Steve, shots fired at the fair. Four males, dark clothes, sunglasses, black baseball caps, black macs. Grace is missing!" the words tumbled out of Danny's mouth. He knew he needed to get the descriptions out first as the second he mentioned his daughter his attention went back to the crowd to search for her.

"We're on our way!" Steve called out to Chin and Kono; Danny could hear his ohana running down the stairs with the SEAL filling in the other two team members, "Danny, anyone hurt?" the concern in his best friend's voice could clearly be heard.

As Danny had been looking for any sign of his daughter his keen eye had spotted several injured people but they all appeared to be minor, "Nothing major that I've seen so far. I need to find Grace!"

"Danny…" Steve didn't manage to say anything else before he heard dial tone. He looked at Chin who was just finishing a call.

"HPD just arrived on scene. I gave them the descriptions and advised that an off duty member of 5-0 is there."

-5-0-

Steve pulled up at the scene, flashed his badge and entered the chaos, looking for both Danny and Grace. He was closely followed by Chin and Kono.

"Get a sit rep from the HPD officer in charge," Steve ordered Kono, eyes trained on the crowd.

"It's not going to be easy to find them," stated Chin, already pulling his cell out to call Danny. The moment it was answered he spoke, "We're here, where are you?"

"In the center of the crowd."

"Make your way towards the band stand and we'll wait here for you, then we'll look for Grace together," suggested Chin, not unreasonably.

"I last saw her and the rest of her class near where I am, so I'll stay here," Danny's stubborn streak was naturally in full force.

"Then don't move from there and we'll circle round until we find her or you."

"Fine," once again dial tone.

Chin looked at Steve helplessly, the deep blue eyes of the SEAL reflected the concern the older detective's eyes were showing.

"Boss, HPD report a dozen injuries so far. No gunshot wounds. Minor scrapes, cuts, bruises and a couple of broken bones where people were trampled," reported Kono, "BOLO has been issued for the shooters but chances are they ditched the caps and macs. Eye witnesses are all reporting the same thing, up to a point. Several men appeared over there," she pointed to the area opposite where they were standing, "Then opened fire without warning or provocation."

"Let me guess, the number of shooters differs and nobody can agree which direction they ran off in?" asked Chin.

"You got it Cuz."

"Danny said there were four so that's what I'm going by until proved otherwise. Now let's get looking for…" Steve paused and his eyes narrowed before he started to stride forward, the sea of people parting, probably due to the intense look on his face, "Grace!"

"Uncle Steve!"

The SEAL found himself with his arms full of a wriggling, tearful Grace. Chin and Kono quickly joined them.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked his niece as his eyes checked her for injuries.

"I can't find Danno!" she sobbed into her Uncle's shoulder.

"He's looking for you. Chin will call him," soothed Steve, rubbing her back.

Chin was already on the phone to Danny directing him to their location. When he hung up he placed his hand on the sobbing girl's back, "He's on his way."

Steve, Chin and Kono all did their best to soothe the distraught child but they knew the only thing that would truly work was seeing Danny for herself.

"Grace!"

Grace lifted her head from the crook of her Uncle's neck at the sound of her Dad's voice and scanned the people until she spotted him running towards her. The surrounding people parted before him and Grace wriggled in Steve's arms but the SEAL hung firmly on to her until Danny was only a short distance away, afraid that she'd get lost again.

"Danno!" Grace practically screamed; her feet touched the ground and she was catapulting into his arms, her tears as much about joy as fear now.

"Sshh Monkey. It's alright," Danny's hand ran up and down her back, "Are you hurt?"

"No," she replied between sniffles.

"Are you sure?" he pulled away slightly trying to look her over but she was clinging to him so tightly he couldn't get a proper look. Sure that Steve had already checked her over he just pulled her closer, took a deep breath and relaxed. That was his mistake.

Pain shot down his legs and became a vice around his whole lower back. Danny knew it wouldn't be long before he dropped Grace so he tried to put her down but she wouldn't release her hold, frightened of hurting her, his eyes sought out Steve.

"Take her," he requested through gritted teeth.

The three other members of 5-0 moved forward as one, knowing something was wrong if their friend was willing to let Grace go so soon. Kono reached out to take her, Chin and Steve taking up position on either side of Danny.

"Danny?" Steve asked. He'd scanned his brother as he'd come towards them, there'd been no blood on him and he was moving without any visible signs of injury.

"No!" Grace clung even harder to her Dad.

"Please," Danny practically begged; his skin paling considerably given the pain he was experiencing. He looked imploringly at Steve, "I can't hold her. My back…"

"Kono, take Grace," Steve ordered, plucking the child gently out of her father's embrace and into Kono's, then swiftly grabbing Danny before he could fall. With Chin's help he lowered him to the ground, "Chin get medics over here."

"Grace…" Danny needed to check on her even though he was on his side on the ground.

"She's fine Danny. Kono has her," Steve reassured his partner, "What happened?" He felt Danny's left hand tighten on his arm.

"Trampled in the panic," the pain was making it difficult to speak; at least Danny thought it was the pain, "Hand and back."

Steve looked at Danny's hands and realised the fingers on the right one were swollen. He then lifted up his shirt and swore at the sight of the bruising that was already present. He was greatly relieved when EMTs appeared and even more so when it was two they knew well. Jake and Andy knelt by their patient as Steve filled them in.

"Danny, scale of one to ten, how's the pain?" asked Andy, expertly slipping an IV cannula into the back of his left hand.

"Eight," he made eye contact with Steve who once again had Grace in his arms. Seeing his daughter was taken care of he closed his eyes and concentrated on not being sick.

"Can you feel this?" asked Jake touching Danny's feet and legs.

"Yes."

"I'm just going to look at your hand," Jake gently examined his patient's swollen appendage, "I'm pretty sure you've got at least a couple of broken fingers. I'll put on a splint in case there are any further breaks."

"Great," grumbled Danny. He hadn't long got full use of his arm back after breaking both his ulna and radius.

"It's just a precaution Danny," Jake tried to reassure him. Andy had been taking vitals and placed an oxygen mask on Danny.

"I'll go and get the back board," Andy told his partner.

Jake spoke quietly to Danny, aware that his young daughter was nearby, "I'm going to give you some morphine for the pain and then we'll secure you to the back board and get you to Queens."

"No back board," protested the injured man.

"Danny…"

"No!"

"Danny…"

"No!"

Jake looked at his partner who had just returned. Andy decided to try, "Why?" he asked.

"Hurts."

"The morphine…"

"No!"

The EMTs looked at each other helplessly. They couldn't force him to agree. Jake glanced over at Steve and gave a slight nod of his head to beckon him over. He handed Grace to Chin after whispering something in her ear.

"Jake?"

"We need to put Danny on a back board and he's refusing."

"Why?"

"He says it hurts. I've given him morphine but he still said no."

"Alright I'll speak to him," Steve ran his hand through his hair and blew out a breath before crouching down next to Danny who had remained on his side, "Danny…"

"No!" he glared at his friend.

"Jake says you need to go on the back board. Don't be so damn stubborn!"

"Pot!"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Perhaps they can give you some more pain relief," suggested the SEAL determined not to be side tracked.

"More painful to lie on my back."

"You need to be checked at the hospital and the backboard is the best way, you could have a spinal injury!"

Andy and Jake joined them, "It's a precaution Danny but we really should use it."

"Any alternative?"

"If you're adamant about not letting us put you on it lying on your back we can strap you to it lying on your side. Not ideal but it's a compromise," advised Andy reluctantly.

"OK," Danny finally agreed.

"You'll be tightly strapped down so you can't move," warned Jake.

"Fine."

Andy went to retrieve some more supplies from the ambulance. When he returned the two EMTs, Steve and Chin, who had passed Grace to Kono, carefully lifted Danny on to the board. A pillow was placed between his knees to ensure his spine stayed aligned then he was strapped firmly in place; the four men then carried him to the ambulance with Kono and Grace trailing behind.

Once Danny was loaded into the ambulance Grace started to fidget in Kono's arms.

"Danno!" she called out.

Steve looked back from where he was now sitting in the back and saw the difficulty the young woman was having holding her and threw a questioning glance at Jake.

"He's stable, I don't see any reason we can't fit you both in." Jake could see the benefit to his patient of having his daughter nearby. Getting up from his seat Steve reached out and took her from Kono.

"See you at the hospital," the rookie said before closing the doors.

Jake sat and monitored Danny's condition while Steve and Grace talked to him, the latter with her hand gently encircled in her Dad's.

-5-0-

The waiting room at Queens had become all too familiar to Steve over the past months and he hated that once again his brother had ended up here; with his niece curled up on his lap he waited for Doctor Jensen to appear.

Rachel had arrived shortly after the call Steve had made from the ambulance at Danny's insistence. He hadn't wanted his ex to hear about the shooting on the news. Grace gave her Mom a hug when she arrived before returning to Steve's lap. Rachel settled beside them accepting that her daughter needed the comfort and reassurance the Navy SEAL offered right now.

They had been waiting for over an hour and had been joined by Kono and Chin when Doctor Jensen emerged from within the ER and sat himself down.

"Danny is going to be fine," the doctor didn't bother with niceties knowing that these people who constituted his patient's family would just want facts, "He has three broken fingers on his right hand, which we've strapped up. There is significant bruising on his lower back which is obviously painful. He isn't experiencing any loss of sensation and the MRI doesn't show any swelling around his spinal cord. Four ribs have been cracked on his right side so he is going to have to be careful not to aggravate those. All in all Danny has been very lucky, though I know that isn't how he feels right now."

"How long will he need to stay?" Steve wanted to know. There was still the 'small' detail of who had been responsible for opening fire on a crowd of people that included his partner. Was it Warner?

"He had to be given a mild sedative for the MRI as he wasn't able to lie on his back, once that has worn off sufficiently and he's been up and about I can discharge him into your care," Doctor Jensen didn't bother asking if someone would be able to look after the injured detective because he knew his team would.

"Can we see Danno?" Grace asked from her place enfolded in Steve's arms.

"Well he's very sleepy still, Grace, but I don't see why not. In fact I'll take you to him myself."

The three 5-0 team members, Rachel and Grace, being carried on Steve's hip, followed the doctor through the ER to a room at the back which allowed the patient a small measure of quiet, something Danny needed.

-5-0-

Danny was lying on his left side staring at the wall of the room Henry had arranged for him to rest in following his MRI. He could still feel the effects of the sedative trying to drag his eyes shut, something he was fighting all the way. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was the look of terror on Grace's face before he'd lost sight of her and been unceremoniously shoved.

He was asking himself what kind of father and police officer he was. A group of men had opened fire on a crowd which consisted of a lot of children and he hadn't been able to defend them. Worst of all he hadn't been able to protect his daughter. Was she really safe with him anymore? Had the shooting been related to him and his work? Was it Warner? Maybe everyone would be safer if he disappeared. Not just Grace but Steve, Chin and Kono. Danny shifted on the bed, a physical response to such thoughts which in turn elicited a physical pain response. Danny hissed at the wave of pain caused by the movement. A noise outside his door made him force his features to relax, the last thing he wanted was anyone to read his thoughts because of his expression.

"Danny, up to some visitors?" asked Henry as he opened the door and noticed his patient was awake.

"Sure," Danny arranged his face into a smile that did nothing to hide the pain lines.

Henry stepped over to the bed after quickly asking the others to wait a moment. Both Steve and Grace practically vibrated with anxiety at the request, wondering what was wrong.

"Still in pain huh?" Henry asked gently.

"Some."

"If I asked you to get up and move around could you?"

"Not without help," admitted Danny reluctantly.

"I'll request a dose of muscle relaxants and some more pain medication. You need to be able to move around and use the bathroom before I can release you. Even if it's with assistance," Henry wrote something on his chart, "Now are you ready for those visitors?"

"Yes, thanks Henry."

"You're welcome Danny. A nurse will be in with that medication soon," the doctor left the room allowing the four adults and child waiting outside to enter.

"Danno!"

"Hey Monkey," he looked up at his daughter held securely in his brother's arms. If he decided to walk away from his career and family here at least he knew Grace would be protected. Shaking off the thought to be considered more carefully later he smiled at his daughter, "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Uncle Steve has been looking after me," she told him as she settled on her Uncle's lap in the chair next to his bed.

"That's good," Danny's eyes moved to Steve, "Thanks man."

"Anytime," Steve rested his hand on Danny's arm.

Rachel, Chin and Kono greeted him and conveyed their relief that his injuries weren't worse. A nurse slipped quietly into the room, administered the medication ordered by Doctor Jensen then left just as quietly.

It didn't take long before Danny was feeling drowsy from the effects and Steve noticed, "Get some rest."

"You should all go home; watching me sleep won't be much fun."

"I would like to take Grace home," Rachel stated, receiving a steely glare from Steve and a pout from her daughter, "I was thinking that I could bring her to yours, Steve, for a short visit, once Danny's released," she clarified. The steely eyed glare lessened, the pout did not.

"Go on Monkey, go with your Mom," he really didn't want either her or Rachel here when he attempted to get up.

Grace glanced at Steve as if looking for reassurance, whatever it was she was searching for she found it and leaned forward to kiss her Dad, "See you later Danno, love you."

"Danno loves you more," he summoned his most convincing smile for her, seemingly satisfied she followed her Mom from the room after saying good bye to Steve, Chin and Kono.

"Chin, Kono, why don't you see if HPD have anything yet," Steve suggested while giving a slight movement of his head indicating they should leave. The team had been working together long enough for them both to hear the words he didn't say.

"Sure Boss," Kono leant over and gave Danny a kiss on the temple, "See you later brah."

"See you Danny, feel better," Chin gave his shoulder a squeeze and the two cousins left.

Left alone the brothers stared at each other; there was so much they both wanted to say but neither could quite come up with the words. A rarity for Danny and it said a lot about his state of mind right now.

Steve was never one to speak about his own feelings so trying to put his thoughts into words now was difficult, let alone pulling the words from Danny that he knew the man needed to share but was reluctant to. The SEAL had seen behind the façade Danny had put on.

"I need you to do something for me," Danny finally found a way to start the conversation.

"Anything," assured Steve. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Danny and that included anything illegal, the only exception was cold bloodied murder, unless of course there were extenuating circumstances.

"Accept my resignation and let me leave without a fuss. Keep an eye on Grace for me and protect her as if she were your own."

'OK,' thought Steve, 'there was _almost_ nothing he wouldn't do." What Danny had just asked him to do, he couldn't possibly comply with.

"I'm going to say this once, and once only. You are as much my brother as Mary is my sister. In a lot of ways I'm closer to you than Mary. If there ever came a time that you couldn't be there for Grace you have to know I will be, but this is not that time. I can't let you resign or leave Grace," he had known Danny was struggling with this latest incident but it hadn't even crossed his mind that the other man would want to leave 5-0, let alone Grace.

"Steve I'm attracting trouble as often as you attract women! Constantly!"

"Well I don't know about the attracting women part but I do know if you do your job right then you're possibly going to attract trouble. We don't even know who is behind the shooting yet. Don't make these decisions when you're in pain and on medication."

Danny looked at Steve, his sky blue eyes filled with tears, but not because of physical pain. He didn't know how long he'd be able to hold his emotions in check but he didn't want the tough Navy SEAL to witness him breakdown.

Steve could see the struggle Danny was having and knew why. There was no way he was leaving him to deal with this on his own. Whatever had Danny ready to breakdown he'd be there to help him through it. He pulled the chair as close to the bed as he could and rested one hand on his head and the other on his left hand, mindful of the IV.

"Talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"

A glance into Steve's dark blue eyes told Danny he was serious and nothing was going to move him from his current spot. "I couldn't protect those kids this morning. I couldn't protect Grace." A single tear slid down his cheek and was gently wiped away by Steve before it could drip on the bed.

"Oh Danny, you know as well as I do that we can't protect everyone all of the time, that includes the people we care about the most," his own eyes filled with tears as he remembered his Dad.

"Damn, I'm sorry Steve, I shouldn't have said anything!"

"Yes you should. If you've shown me anything it's the importance of being honest with your ohana. You're more important than my grief or revenge."

Danny was overwhelmed by this rare confession by his brother and it was the final straw as he lost control of his emotions completely. Tears poured down his cheeks, dripping onto the bed and running into his hair. Steve grabbed some tissues from the nearby table and gently wiped them away while leaving a comforting hand on Danny's own hand.

Henry walked into the room ten minutes later to find his patient asleep and Steve hovering, "Everything OK?" he asked softly.

"No, Doctor Jensen, not really, but it will be if I have any say in the matter!"

"Steve I really think it's time you called me Henry! Now tell me what's going on."

"OK, Henry it is. Honestly Danny's just having a hard time coping with this latest thing; we've talked and I think he'll be alright now."

"Well if there's anything I can do all either of you have to do is ask. Let me know when he wakes up and we'll see if we can get him mobile ready for discharge," Henry left the room to let Danny rest further.

-5-0-

"Wake up Danny, we're home," Steve gently nudged his friend to wake him up.

"Huh?" a bleary eyed Danny glanced back at him, taking in the now open truck door as well as the fact the front door of the house was wide open.

"Come on, I unlocked the door and turned off the alarm before waking you up," the SEAL grinned at the other man. He was hopped up on some strong medication to make the journey back to the house easier on him. Steve was glad of it too because getting him up and moving at the hospital had been an ordeal for him to watch so he could only imagine how painful it was to actually have to be the one experiencing those first movements.

"'K," with Steve's help Danny managed to get out of the car and into the house. He stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at them with trepidation, "Nope."

"Come on man, you'll be more comfortable lying in bed than on the couch."

"I say I'll be just fine," Danny had clearly become more aware on the short journey from the car to the house, which was rather unfortunate in Steve's opinion as if he had still been out of it, it would have been easier to encourage him up the stairs.

"Do I have to call Henry?" Steve raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Really? You're going to threaten me with my doctor now?"

"If I have to."

"Come on Steve, I'll be fine on the couch. I don't wanna have to walk up those stairs," whined Danny. Honestly it didn't look like a flight of stairs to him right now; it looked more like a potential torture session given how much his back hurt every time he moved his legs.

"Seriously, you're gonna whine like a five year old?"

"I'm _not_ whining," insisted Danny his bottom lip starting to stick out in the beginning of a pout, "I'm merely pointing out that I don't wanna walk up the stairs."

"You're tone was definitely whiny."

"I don't have a tone!"

"Yes, my friend, you do have a tone. This particular tone was whiny and reminiscent of Gracie when she's tired!"

"Are you picking on the invalid, 'cos you know that's not cool right? I'll tell Kono and she'll kick your ass!"

"Oh my God! You are behaving like a child Danny! Get up the bloody stairs!" growled Steve, the stress and worry of the day finally causing his patience to snap.

"No!" if it wasn't for the fact that it would hurt Danny would have crossed his arms in defiance.

The SEAL ran a hand through his hair, his other hand still supporting his unsteady partner, "If it wasn't for those cracked ribs I'd throw you over my shoulder and carry you up the damn stairs!"

"Boss!"

Both men's heads turned round at the sound of a female voice behind them, though Danny was a little slower.

"Hey Kono," Danny smiled sweetly.

"Hi Danny, how are you feeling?" Kono walked over to join them, holding out a hand to help steady him.

"I hurt," said the injured man, giving her his best puppy dog sad eyes, "and the Neanderthal," he vaguely pointed in Steve's direction, "Wants me to walk up the stairs."

Kono turned her attention to her boss, Chin stayed silent behind her trying his hardest not to laugh at the scene before him.

"What? Henry said he should lie down when I got him home. I thought the bed would be more comfortable but he's refusing to go up the stairs!"

"That doesn't mean that you threaten him! He's in pain and on heavy duty pain medication so he needs gentle handling! Go and get some drinks sorted and leave Danny to me," she instructed.

Throwing his hands up in the air he headed to the kitchen. At a nod from Kono her cousin followed him.

Kono turned her full attention back to Danny who was now using the wall for additional support, "Danny?"

"Yes Kono," his blue eyes turned to her, clearly still glazed over from whatever medication Doctor Jensen had given him.

"Would you do something for me?" she asked gently.

"Anything for you," he grinned goofily at her.

Kono suppressed the urge to giggle at his behaviour, "I'm really worried about you lying on that couch. I don't like seeing you in pain, it upsets me, and I think the bed would be better for you. Would you please go upstairs to lie down? For me?" she opened her eyes wide and gave him her own version of the puppy dog eyes. Big, brown and with a little bit of a watery sheen to them it was likely that no man could resist, especially one under the influence of medication.

Sighing dramatically, Danny looked from her to the stairs, "Only 'cos you asked so nicely babe," he swayed slightly as he took his first slow, and painful, step on the stairs but Kono was right beside him to steady him. It took the pair some time but eventually she had managed to get Danny into his room and into bed. Of course a 'sober' Danny would never have allowed Kono to help him undress but drugged Danny was extremely pliant.

"Huh, how did you manage that?" asked a slightly disgruntled Steve from behind her, a glass of water in his hand that he placed on the nightstand once he'd sidled passed her.

"A woman never reveals her secrets," Kono replied with a grin.

"She asked nicely," was the response from the bed as Danny smiled at Kono, "You should try it some time," he pulled the covers up over his head to block out the daylight not quite dulled by the blinds that had been pulled, but Steve was sure he heard a mumbled, "Neanderthal," come from underneath the covers.

Steve shook his head before leaving the room closely followed by Kono, he was just glad that someone had managed to get Danny to go to bed. He was sure that if he'd allowed him to sleep on the couch the resulting pain would have been unbearable, hopefully this way the pain would be manageable at least.

-5-0-

"So the gunfire was merely a distraction for a robbery?" Danny asked, disgusted that someone would open fire on such a crowd for any reason let alone for a distraction.

"That's right," Kono affirmed as she sat in a chair on the decking at the back of Steve's house.

It had been three days since the incident and Danny had been stuck in bed for most of it so he was actually enjoying being allowed out to eat dinner with the rest of his team.

"That's… I don't have words for that!"

"Quick, note the date, Danny's speechless!" chuckled Steve, earning a glare from his friend.

"I know what you mean brah. The diamond dealer who was robbed had quite a bit to say on the matter," Chin told them, "but he was grateful to hear that he'd be getting his diamonds back in due course after we caught the four shooters who then rolled on their accomplices."

"Yeah, let that be a lesson to the criminal element, wearing baseball caps and macs on a hot day causes sweat which leaves DNA!" Kono grinned.

Danny shifted restlessly, still uncomfortable with sitting for long periods. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Steve, "How about we head inside to watch a game or movie?" he suggested. At least he could get Danny lying down and more comfortable even if he knew the other man wouldn't go back to bed right now.

"Sounds like a plan," Danny replied, a slight edge of relief to his voice which none of his friends commented on. Kono provided a steadying hand for Danny as they walked back in. The pain in his legs had lessened but until the bruising started to fade he was likely to be in some discomfort for a while. Henry had told him he could expect his ribs to take around six weeks to fully heal. Danny knew only too well that that meant desk duty for probably another month, more if Steve had his way. The fingers of his right hand weren't quite so painful as long as he didn't try to use it at the moment, they'd actually probably take less time to heal than his ribs.

The SEAL had been treating Danny a little bit like he was a china doll that would break at the slightest movement but the detective couldn't see his way fit to grouching about it. He'd given the whole team a scare but he'd taken it one step further with Steve when he'd threatened to quit. Danny still wasn't sure that it wouldn't be better but he could also now see the pain that would cause his ohana, pain medication really did colour a person's perspective.

That morning Danny and Steve had spoken again about the possibility of him leaving 5-0 and Hawaii. Now on a lower dose of pain medication Danny's sense of reasoning and his emotions were more controlled. In fact after he'd finished speaking with Steve about it for a second time he was under no illusions that if he were to up and vanish the Navy SEAL would use all his not inconsiderable connections to track him down and drag him back, kicking and screaming if necessary. What a great feeling to be _that_ loved.


	21. U is for Underestimated

**DISCLAIMER: You could refer to every other chapter of this story, but I'll repeat myself. I don't own Hawaii 5-0!**

**A/N: Wow, OK. Firstly, thank you for your support, reviews, alerts and reading. I know this chapter has been a long time coming as you all probably were used to me updating daily before I went away. I hope the length of this one means I might be forgiven for taking so long. The chances are that the next chapter will be a lot shorter as I think Danny could do with a break from all the stress! lol**

**U is for Underestimated**

Danny had just dropped Grace off at her Mom's house and was heading back home, not to his home though, oh no. His boss, best friend and surrogate brother, all rolled into one, was still insisting he stay with him. Steve McGarrett would not back down on this no matter how much Danny argued. Oh, he'd tried to go back to his apartment, but the next day at work Steve had somehow managed to steal his keys and was refusing to give them back.

There was no animosity in Steve's actions, only a fear of losing his brother. Danny just couldn't seem to find a way to reassure Steve and until he could come up with a way he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. McGarrett was the immovable rock in this scenario. Of course Danny being trampled while out on an excursion with his daughter and her classmates just a couple of weeks ago hadn't helped the detective's case one bit. His still at times painful ribs would twinge at the most inconvenient moments, always when Steve was there to witness his momentary discomfort.

The only reason Danny had been 'allowed' to drive Grace home that night was because Steve had been called out, along with the other two members of the task force. Danny was still on restricted duties so there was nothing he could contribute at this early stage. Once evidence had been gathered and statements taken then Danny would be helping out, from his desk only, no field duty, at least not for another two weeks, possibly up to four depending on how well his ribs healed.

Sighing, Danny turned his car towards Steve's, deciding to take the long way round so that he could just get some time away from the house. All he seemed to do at the moment was go from Steve's to the office and back again. He totally got why Steve was behaving the way he was, if the roles were reversed Danny would be the same. Navy SEAL or not, he would still want the other man to be within his sight as much as possible. He just hoped that this wouldn't have a detrimental effect on their 'relationship' as it stood. Living together for so long could be problematic, especially when both had different routines and habits that totally clashed at times.

The detective was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the vehicle coming up behind him on the quiet road, something he would kick himself for later. The driver of the other vehicle made his presence known when he pulled up alongside the Camaro, before Danny could even react the truck slammed into the side of his car, causing him to fight with the steering and end up stopped on the dirt at the side of the road.

"What the hell?" Danny exclaimed as the truck, very similar to Steve's stopped in front. Due to the threat that Warner currently posed he didn't go anywhere without his sidearm now, so he reached for it, as he watched a couple of men wearing masks and sporting semi-automatic weapons climbed out and ran towards him.

They hadn't been going very fast so there was little other damage done to the Camaro than that caused by the side impact, it did however prevent Danny from getting his door open in order to properly confront his attackers. Climbing across the center console he made to open the passenger side door so that he could use that as cover while reaching for his cell to call for assistance.

As he opened the passenger door he heard the sound of guns being prepared to fire and made himself as small as possible as a volley of bullets struck his beloved car, his hands went over his head in a vain attempt to protect himself.

"Detective Williams," a deep male voice called out in the quiet once the shooting stopped. There was no other sound; the local wildlife had descended into silence at the loud noise in the deserted area where Danny now found himself. Of all the stupid ideas to take a back way, with no possible chance of assistance, he berated himself. No houses, not even a warehouse for miles as far as he could tell in the diminishing light. Steve was going to kill him, then Kono would bring him back to kill him again and no doubt Chin would take his turn too, "Detective Williams," the voice called again.

Danny needed to buy some time, he picked up his cell and pressed speed dial #2 before answering, "What?" in a less than friendly tone.

"I am sure you're trying to call the rest of your team for help, if you check your cell you'll see you have no signal, we're jamming it."

Looking at his cell Danny saw that the man was right, _'Well that's not good!'_ "What do you want?"

"Throw your gun and cell out of the car then step out with your hands up."

"So you can shoot me? I don't think that sounds like a very good plan," Danny called back.

"We're not going to shoot you Detective Williams; in fact we have no intention of harming even a single hair on your head."

"I'm just supposed to believe that, am I?" Danny was casting around in his mind for something that would help get him out of this. He had his Sig but that wasn't going to do much against at least two men armed with semi-automatics, "You crashed into my car and then shot it up! How is that supposed to convince me that you don't want to hurt me?"

"I apologise for the shooting Detective, my two colleagues were a little over eager," there was a tone of rebuke in the man's voice, clearly not directed at Danny.

Danny was thrown, a criminal was apologising to him? This whole situation was more than a little odd, "Did Shane Warner send you?"

"I don't know anyone by that name Detective."

He wondered how long he would need to keep this little chat up before someone drove down this road. Admittedly it was a pretty deserted area but someone must drive along this road now and then, right?

"Oh and Detective, if you're thinking that help might come along in the form of a passer-by, then I should probably tell you that we've closed off both ends of the road for, er, repairs!"

'_What is this guy, a mind reader?'_ "What do you want with me?" asked Danny.

"We need you to be a distraction for us," the deep voice replied.

"A distraction? What kind of distraction?" he didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Look Detective Williams, I'm not going to tell you anymore, so do as I asked or I'll let my two colleagues turn your Camaro into Swiss cheese!"

"What happened to not hurting a hair on my head?"

"If you won't co-operate then I'll just have to go to plan B. I'm sure you can still be a distraction even as a corpse!"

There was no choice. He had to do as requested. At least, this way, it might give his team time to find him, alive. If he tries to fight his way out then all they'll find is a dead body.

"Fine!" he growls and throws both his cell and gun onto the dirt next to the Camaro, then clambers, none to gracefully, out of the door with his hands raised. He is immediately grabbed by one of the two armed men.

"Detective Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you," the deep voiced man is now standing in front of him.

"Well given I don't know who you are and under the circumstances we're meeting, I can't say the same!"

"Understandable. You are a means to an end Detective. I promise you that I have no desire to hurt you unless you give me or my men reason."

"Comforting," Danny rolls his eyes.

"Yes, well…" The man nods to another standing off in the shadows and he approaches Danny, a cloth in one hand.

"Oh hell no!" He knows exactly what's coming and fights against the man pinning his arms behind him. In seconds he finds himself flat on his back being held down by two men while a third places the cloth across his nose and mouth. The pain being generated from his four healing ribs causes him to gasp taking in a good dose of what's on the cloth despite his best intentions.

"Don't worry Detective, we'll be gone when you wake up," the deep voice tells him before everything fades to black.

-5-0-

Danny wakes up to the sound of a car coming to a stop. His instincts tell him that whatever is going on he needs to pretend he is still unconscious from the chloroform. When hands grab him he purposely makes his body limp and doesn't fight them. Even when he hears the tell-tale sound of helicopter blades starting to rotate through the air and feels the downdraft, he keeps up his act. This means he gets to hear what the plans are as the men, who are clearly lackeys, discuss things they probably shouldn't.

"Why the hell didn't we just kill him?" grouches one man.

"He explained why," responds another.

"Doesn't want to kill a member of 5-0 and bring down the wrath of the mighty McGarrett, I know, I heard…"

'_Well that kind of explains why I'm still breathing, thank god Steve isn't here to hear them call him mighty McGarrett, his ego is big enough already!'_

"… but don't you think that kidnapping a member of 5-0 will _still_ have the same effect?" continues the man.

"Look, he'll be so distracted looking for his man and thinking that Warner is responsible that he won't spare anyone else more than a fleeting thought."

'_Huh, OK, so not Warner. Then who?'_

"We should cut our losses and head back to the mainland."

"No. 5-0 cost us a deal that was potentially worth millions when they arrested the other crew for that diamond heist. This has been in the planning for months now, ever since the press announcement, we need to draw 5-0 away from interviewing the other crew, just in case one of 'em slips up."

"The other crew already tried the distraction thing and it _didn't_ work!"

"They chose a public event with kids! That was stupid. We're using one man."

"Why this one though?"

"Well McGarrett's a Navy SEAL, Kelly and Kalakaua are both native Hawaiians so the plan wouldn't have worked. This guy is a city boy!"

"I see. Dump him in the jungle somewhere nice and remote, he won't be able to find his way out for days…"

'_Shit!'_

"That's right, when we're free and clear after the heist on Tuesday night the boss will send 5-0 the co-ordinates where we're gonna drop this guy; then they can do a search for him."

'_Steve will tear this island apart once he realises I'm missing! What are these bozos up to that warrants kidnapping a member of the Governor's task force?'_

"The Hawaiian Crown Jewels…"

"Enough talking you two, take him and load him into the helicopter!"

Danny continued to make sure his body remained limp even as he was unceremoniously dumped on what he figured must be the floor of the previously mentioned helicopter given the vibrations he could feel. A few minutes later his assumption was confirmed as he felt the movement of the chopper lifting off the ground.

'_They're going to steal the Crown Jewels? Seriously? Have I found myself in the middle of a movie script here?' _Danny knew that he was going to be dumped in the middle of nowhere… from a helicopter. The question was were they going to land or just throw him out and hope for the best?

Minutes later Danny felt a rope being tied around his waist and figured now was his chance to try to bring these guys down. They hadn't tied him up obviously thinking that he was still unconscious so he allowed his eyes to open enough to take in his surroundings. The same two men that had been armed were on board; there was no sign of the man with the deep voice so the only other person was the pilot.

Taking a deep breath Danny launched himself at the man nearest to him and a scuffle ensued. The space was restrictive and didn't really allow the detective the space he needed in order to take down both men. As a result Danny received several hard blows to his torso knocking the breath out of him.

"We're over the clearing," the pilot spoke through his headset to the two men struggling with their prisoner in the back.

One of them opened the door while the other subdued Danny in a head lock, leaving him no room to manoeuvre. The man holding him shuffled forward bringing them closer to the door. Naturally this wasn't something that Danny wanted so he kept trying to brace his feet to prevent the forward motion. He was rewarded with a foot to his lower leg, the pain prevented him from further struggling adequately against what he knew was coming… The bastards were going to drop him out the helicopter which was now hovering.

-5-0-

"That was a complete waste of time," grumbled Kono as she followed her boss and cousin back into the 5-0 offices at the Palace.

"Crank calls are the worst," agreed Chin, slumping down in one of the chairs.

"Man, the look on the faces of that family when we burst into their house!" Steve ran a tired hand through his hair as he joined his friends in the main room. He'd have a _lot_ of explaining to do when he spoke to the Governor tomorrow.

"Well we had to go by what we'd been told Steve. HPD get a tip saying that Warner is back on the island and hiding out in that house, we had to check it out."

"I let my personal feelings get in the way of doing it right though Chin!" the SEAL was clearly angry at himself, "We should have taken the time to verify the information. Instead we burst into an innocent family's home waving weapons around! The kids were younger than Grace!"

"Yeah, Danny's not gonna be too thrilled when he hears about this," Kono shuddered at the thought of the rant they were going to be on the receiving end of.

Chin dropped his head in his hands knowing that this time even he wouldn't be immune since he'd gone along with Steve's plan to just raid the house without checking the intel. They all wanted so badly to get their hands on Warner once and for all.

"Shit!" Steve swore and reached for his cell.

"Steve?"

"Boss?"

"Danny's not answering his cell…"

"It's late, he's probably asleep," Chin looked at his watch and groaned as he saw it was nearing midnight.

"He'd still answer his phone, he wouldn't be happy about it…"

Chin lifted his head up and realised what Steve wasn't saying, "You think that this could have been a distraction to allow Warner to get to Danny?"

The three team mates were moving out of the office before the sentence was even complete.

Steve jumped into his truck, flicked on the lights and sirens and took off towards his house with Chin closely following in his SUV. When they reached the house Danny's Camaro wasn't there, the front door was locked. Steve indicated that Chin and Kono should go round the back while he entered in the front.

Opening the door Steve found that the alarm was set, disabling it he then moved through the house clearing rooms. Chin and Kono entering behind him after discovering the door at the back was secure.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Damn, where the hell is he?" Steve pulled out his cell and called the one person that he really didn't want to.

"_Rachel Edwards,"_ she had clearly been asleep.

"Rachel, its Steve McGarrett…."

"Commander, have you any idea what time it is?" Rachel demanded in her clipped British voice.

"I know and I'm sorry to call so late, but it's important."

There was a sigh of defeat from the other end of the phone. Rachel had no doubt that if she hung up on the Commander he'd be knocking at her door and waking the whole house, _"What is it?"_

"Did Danny drop Grace off?"

"_Yes,"_ her tone was now turning to one of concern.

"What time?"

"_Just after eight. What's going on Steve?"_

"I'm not sure yet Rachel," he answered honestly, "I'm going to send a unit over to keep an eye on your place. I want you to call me if you hear from Danny."

"A unit? Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, it is. I know Danny would want me to make sure that whatever is going on you and Gracie are safe. Stay in the house, keep the doors locked. Call me if anything happens in the meantime."

"Very well… Steve?"

"Yes?"

"Call me when you know what's happening, please?"

"I will," he hung up, sighing with relief. That had gone better than he expected.

"HPD are sending a unit over now. I also put a BOLO out on Danny's Camaro," Chin informed Steve hanging up his own phone.

"I should have seen that this was a trick! I was too damn eager to take it at face value. I didn't even tell Danny; at least he might have been ready for whatever happened."

"We all were Steve. You did what you thought was best at the time and we supported that decision."

"The important thing now, is finding Danny!" stated Kono. They could wallow in guilt later.

"There are only a two routes between here and Rachel's," Chin pointed out.

"Alright, we'll take one route each and retrace his steps. Kono stay here in case he comes back," ordered Steve.

Kono was about to protest but was cut off by a small shake of her cousin's head. Steve needed to be out there doing something and they needed someone to stay put. Her shoulders sagging slightly in defeat she nodded as she watched the two men hurry out to their vehicles.

-5-0-

Danny found himself dangling out of the helicopter on a rope. He was a bit hazy on just how he'd gone from being inside the chopper to dangling below it but he was sure it had something to do with the throbbing in his temple. Taking a deep breath, which caused his ribs to protest, he looked around in the failing light. Apart from the clearing below, all he could see were trees, lots and lots of trees, miles and miles of trees.

Looking up he saw the two men he'd been struggling with give a feral grin as they lowered him down towards the ground. At least his worse fears of just being thrown out hadn't come to pass, which had been a real possibility after he'd managed to punch one and kick the other in the face.

"We should let him drop from here!" remarked one of the men to the other.

"Boss would kill us if we did that, could kill him and that's not part of the plan."

The two men started to fight for control over the rope, one worried that the other was just going to drop their prisoner from a great height. The pilot seeing the two struggling lowered the chopper down as far as he could without striking the tall trees surrounding the clearing, hoping to get the dangling man close enough to the ground.

"Stop that! Lower him down until he's on the ground!"

"I'm going to if you'll just let me be!"

"Look you're going to…"

"Oh…"

"…drop him."

Leaning slightly out of the chopper the two men looked at the man lying on the ground.

"He's not moving."

"You just dropped him fifteen feet, of course he's not moving! Throw down the back pack and let's get out of here."

Shrugging the other man pulled his head back in and closed the door and the chopper took off leaving Danny alone.

For his part, Danny wasn't unconscious, merely winded. He was sure Super SEAL had deliberately 'fallen' out of choppers on numerous occasions, for him it was his first time and frankly, he had no intention of there being a second!

Taking a moment to put his heart back in his chest Danny lay looking at the ever darkening sky and knew that, before too much longer, it would be completely dark. Unless of course there was a full moon tonight, but he was sure he couldn't be that lucky. With this in mind he knew that he needed to get his ass off the ground and find some shelter for the night.

When he'd fallen, with help, from the chopper he had landed on his back with his right leg tucked underneath him, it wasn't a comfortable position so he sat up, groaning at the renewed pain this caused from his ribs. Henry would not be pleased but it seemed likely he'd managed to injure them again. As Danny went to move his bent leg he discovered that really was the least of his problems as pain shot through his knee.

'_Great, could things get any worse?'_

Danny scrambled to his feet and went to see if he could put any weight on his right leg, immediately it became clear he couldn't as he ended up back sitting on the ground clutching at it, eyes watering.

'_I had to ask, didn't I?'_

Using the last of the light he rolled up his pants leg and found not only was his knee swelling but so was his ankle.

'_OK, take a minute Danny… I'm in the middle of a jungle… sorry, rainforest… I have no clue how far from civilisation, with what looks like a sprained ankle, bruised knee and cracked ribs… I'm screwed!'_

Looking around Danny's eyes landed on the back pack. He shuffled over to it on his ass, glad that nobody could see him at that moment. Opening it he took stock of what he had been left.

'_Flashlight, bottle of water, couple of energy bars, blanket… That's not going to last long.'_

Danny made his way slowly over to a tree on the edge of the clearing and settled into the area created by the roots, pulling out the blanket he decided what he needed was a couple of hours rest, then he could figure out how the hell he was going to get out of this mess.

-5-0-

Steve and Chin stood near Danny's Camaro, staring at it in silence as a crew of CSU crawled over it, photographing and picking up relevant evidence to bag and tag.

Charlie Fong approached the two men, "Steve, Chin."

"What have you got for us Charlie?" asked Steve. He had received a call from Chin stating he'd found Danny's car and that CSU were on their way. The SEAL had arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes and his heart had sunk into his combat boots.

"Danny's gun and cell were left at the side of the road, his wallet and badge on the passenger seat. No rounds were fired from Danny's weapon, but we have collected at least twenty casings that appear to be from a 9mm."

"Can you tell what kind of gun?"

"Maybe when we get all the evidence back to the lab…"

"OK Charlie. Thanks. Get the car towed back to HPD and start processing, this is top priority!"

"I'll call you as soon as I have any further information," Charlie hurried off to oversee the collecting of the rest of the evidence and securing the Camaro for transport.

"We need to get Kono and head back to the Palace, see if we can figure out who's behind this and where they've taken him," Chin placed a hand on Steve's arm to drag his attention away from the car that was now being covered in wrap to protect any evidence.

"We know whose behind it Chin…"

"Brah, we can't assume anything right now. We need to treat this like any other kidnapping and track down all leads."

"I know, it's just..."

"Let's go…"

The two men turned away from the Camaro back to their own vehicles. Steve was going to go by his place, pick up Kono and meet Chin back at HQ.

A quiet Kono joined the two men at the computer table at the Palace. Chin had been busy trying to track down any one who had dealings with Shane Warner on Oahu and trying to find out if there was any way that he'd made it back on to the island without them knowing.

"Hey Cuz, what can I do to help?"

"You can run down these names and find out whether their still behind bars or not," Chin provided her with a list of a dozen names, all came from cases where Danny had been instrumental in putting them in prison.

"I'm going to call the Governor and then I'll give you a hand," Steve had put off calling the man until he knew for sure Danny had been taken. With the evidence before them of the shot up Camaro he could no longer deny that he had.

-5-0-

Danny woke with a start at a sound off to his left. It took a moment for him to realise that he wasn't at home in his bed or Steve's guestroom bed at least. Then he remembered, forest, middle of nowhere, on his own.

Fumbling he found the flashlight and shone it in the direction the noise was coming from. Whatever was making the noise clearly didn't like the light as the sound receded. Danny slumped back and pressed his hands into his eyes to wipe away the dregs of sleep. Wanting to conserve the battery on the flashlight he turned it off but placed it safely back in the bag next to him. Sighing he rested his head back wondering how long it would take for him to be found and if he would still be alive. A picture of Grace popped into his mind unbidden and suddenly he was sitting more upright, time for a self-lecture.

'_Alright Danno, pull yourself together! They took you because you're the least experienced in this environment so figure you can't get yourself out of the rainforest! You need to prove them wrong! They said they'd let 5-0 know where you are in a couple of days. Firstly you likely don't have enough provisions to last that long, secondly you know about a crime that's going to be committed and you need to do something about it! Rest now because at first light you are outta here pal!'_

Satisfied that he'd given himself enough of a pep talk for the time being he got as comfortable as he could and settled down to get some more rest knowing that he was going to need all his energy the following day.

A warm feeling on his face woke him several hours later. Opening his eyes he quickly snapped them shut again as he was blinded by a bright light. Shielding his eyes with his arm he opened them again to see the clearing he was in bathed in bright morning sunshine. The sun had cleared the trees and was warming his chilled body. Stretching Danny groaned as his ribs reminded him that they were hurting.

'_Right Williams, drink, eat some of one of those energy bars and then decide how you're going to find your way outta this hell-hole of a rainforest!'_

Putting actions to words he opened the bottle of water and took just a couple of sips, unless he could find more water he'd need to make this last. Opening one of the two energy bars he again only had a couple of bites before rewrapping it and placing it back in the bag. He then folded the blanket and returned that to the bag before zipping it up securely. A cursory examination of his ankle and knee showed that although the swelling had gone down slightly it was likely walking was going to be slow and painful.

Taking as deep a breath as his damaged ribs would allow he pushed against the tree and leaned into it for support, putting all his weight only on his left leg. Once up he gingerly tested putting weight on his right and found that was a bad idea as the pain nearly sent him back to the ground. He looked around for an answer, he needed to be able to walk but it was clear he'd be unable to without assistance. After carefully searching the ground he finally spotted a sturdy looking fallen branch not too far from where he was currently standing. Slowly he lowered himself to the ground and bum shuffled his way to it. There were quite a few smaller branches sticking out from it that he really needed to get rid of but there had been no knife provided….

Danny patted the pockets of his pants and sighed with relief when he found he still had the Swiss army knife that Steve had given him as a gift. It was of course the best that he could find so had a good quality, sharp knife which he now used to remove the smaller branches, until he was left with a long thick branch that was maybe a little shorter than he'd have liked but would be sufficient for him to lean on. Putting his theory to the test he bum shuffled his way back to the tree so he would have something to prop himself up on as he got to his feet and hold on to if his attempt to create a walking stick failed.

Tentatively Danny rested his right hand on the top of the stick, grateful that his previously broken fingers had healed enough to enable them to bend, and took a step putting most of his weight on the stick as he brought his injured leg forward. After he'd managed a few steps he breathed a sigh of relief, it wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty, but it was working! Turning back towards the tree he picked up the back pack and placed it over his shoulders then made his way into the middle of the clearing. He was hoping to get an indication of which direction he should go. Even Super SEAL would struggle to know for sure not knowing where he was or having a map of the area, though Danny was sure he'd have some trick up his sleeve. Reaching the middle he looked around, mostly all he could see was trees but he noticed that they seemed to start to slope away on one side, which would imply that way was downhill whereas in the opposite direction they sloped up. Then of course either side they stayed level.

Should he go up, down or stay on the level? Damn what a decision. There was no apparent trail out of the clearing. He ruled out going up quite quickly, although he might get a better view of where he was he figured it would be too much of a struggle with his injured leg, so left, right or down?

Danny walked the edge of the clearing until he could discern a path that he figured would be relatively easy given his current condition, whether it was the right one or not remained to be seen but it was sure as hell better than sitting waiting for something that might never happen! The clearest route that he could see led down so that's the way he went.

It was a long, slow process because he didn't want to rush and stumble. Slow and steady was the way he was going to win _this_ race. He'd show those scumbags that he was capable of traversing the rainforest. He'd prove to Steve, Chin and Kono that he may not be a native Hawaiian or grown up here or a SEAL but he was still damn capable of looking after himself in a difficult situation.

-5-0-

"No Sir, no news yet. I will Governor," Steve hung up the phone on his desk and rested his head in his hands, Chin and Kono looked at him feeling exactly the same way. The three of them had been up all night tracking down criminals that Danny had put away both with HPD and 5-0. Every single one was accounted for. Shane Warner was still off the grid so there was no way of telling if he was behind Danny's disappearance or not.

There was no forensic evidence to help them. There were a total of twenty two casings that had been picked up off the ground in front of the Camaro and a corresponding twenty two 9mm bullets from the front of the body of the car. None of which had any blood on at least. Charlie had sprayed the inside with luminol and it had come back clear so at least it didn't appear that Danny had been killed or injured at the scene.

Charlie believed that the weapon the bullets had come from was likely a Colt 2000 or something of a similar size. The bullets were being run through IBIS to see if the weapons had been used in any other cases.

"You should both go and get some rest," Steve lifted his head and looked at his two remaining subordinates.

"If we should, then so should you," pointed out Chin gently.

"I can't rest when I don't know where Danny is."

"What makes you think we can?" Kono asked quietly.

"It's been nearly fifteen hours since he dropped Grace off at Rachel's. Nobody has seen him since. He could be anywhere!" the frustration and anger could be clearly heard in Steve's voice. The face he was currently sporting wasn't one that Danny had seen in order to be able to name it. Chin and Kono hoped that none of them would ever have to see this particular face again.

"OK, why don't we all grab a couple of hours in our offices? We're no good to Danny if we're dead on our feet," Chin suggested reasonably, "Perhaps Charlie will come up with something on the bullets while we get some rest. Right now there is nothing for us to do but wait."

"You're right. Wherever Danny is we need to be ready to go and bring him back," Steve nodded. He didn't want to nap and was used to being up for hours with little sleep but Chin and Kono weren't. Steve had people other than Danny to think about and he wouldn't want him to forget that.

"I don't need to sleep!" insisted Kono.

"Come on Cuz," Chin pulled her out of her chair and practically dragged her into her office and pushed her down onto the couch, "A couple of hours rest and perhaps we'll see something we missed."

"A couple of hours…"

"Yeah."

"OK," she sighed in defeat and rested her head on the arm. It didn't take long for her breathing to even out as she fell asleep.

"One down, one to go," mumbled Chin; only too well aware that the SEAL was going to do everything he could to avoid resting. Entering Steve's office he stood in the doorway arms crossed.

"What?"

"You're not planning on sleeping are you?"

Steve thought about lying but knew Chin would see right through him, "Nope."

"Brah, exhausting yourself will not help Danny! I know you used to go a long time without sleep with the SEALs but this isn't the SEALs and we need you to be well rested. The danger of missing the smallest detail that could help find Danny if we don't rest is too great."

"He wouldn't rest if it was one of us!"

"Yes, Steve, he would if it was what was needed. We've already been going for nearly thirty hours, once we get a lead who knows when we'll get a chance to rest again."

Scrubbing his hands over his face he knew that Chin was right, but he just hated to feel like he was giving up.

"You're not giving up on him Steve," Chin could read the man's face almost as well as Danny; "He wouldn't begrudge anyone a couple of hours rest."

"Fine. A couple of hours," the SEAL heard the sense in the words even if it was hard for him to accept. He stretched out as well as he could on the couch in his office and closed his eyes. Thanks to his time as a SEAL he could drop off to sleep quickly so he was soon dozing fitfully.

Chin returned to his own office hoping that after a couple of hour's rest they would be able to find new leads that would help them locate their missing friend. The longer he was missing the more people around them looked at them with sympathy, as if the detective had already been found dead. The 5-0 ohana knew that their Jersey haole was too stubborn to just give up and if there was a way to survive whatever was happening to him he'd find it. He was as resourceful as Steve; kick ass as Kono and as mentally strong as Chin in his own New Jersey way. With that thought Chin lay down and fell asleep.

-5-0-

Elsewhere on the island in a rainforest the last member of 5-0 was also taking a break. Danny had found a rock that he could sit on which meant he didn't have to struggle to get back up. Although the tree canopy sheltered him from a lot of the sun it was still hot and he'd been walking, well hobbling, for a few hours now without a break. Opening the back pack he took a couple of mouthfuls of his precious water and a bite of one of the energy bars.

He didn't give himself long to rest. There was little time for him to find his way out of this forest, get to his team and give them the information he possessed about the plan to steal the Crown Jewels.

Once more Danny pushed to his feet and started to hobble his way down the hill. To him it seemed never ending but he was determined to prove to everybody that you shouldn't underestimate him just because he's a city boy. It was then, as if someone somewhere wanted to test his resolve that the heavens opened and a torrential downpour struck. Although not as bad as if he'd been out in the open the rain still managed to make it through the trees and he was soaked in seconds. There was nowhere for him to shelter so he just pushed on, being careful as the ground became wet and slippery. Bad guys, rain, sprained ankle, bruised knee, cracked ribs; none of it was going to stop him from achieving his goal! The rain continued for about twenty minutes before the sun broke through the tree canopy once more.

Danny shivered slightly as the chill of the rain seeped into his skin but he found a spot in the sunlight and he was soon warmer again. There was one advantage of the rain, it had gathered in some of the leaves of the lower vegetation and Danny took full advantage of it and drank some so that he didn't need to dip into his precious bottled water for a while. Sure the water wasn't clear but he knew from Chin that even if he found a stream or body of water that drinking from it could be dangerous, something about bacteria in the water.

The day dragged on and Danny was getting tired, his hand hurt from holding onto his 'walking stick', blisters forming in the palm of his hand where it was rubbing. His ankle and knee were both extremely swollen when he checked them last but there was nothing he could do right now. The non-native Hawaiian pushed on until the sun dropped below the trees and he could barely see, then he found a place to rest, once again in between tree roots.

A little water and the rest of his first energy bar before settling down to sleep. He pulled the blanket out of the bag and checked his knee and ankle both of which throbbed reminding him that he needed to do something to help the swelling go down. Making sure that he wouldn't damage anything in the bag he rolled it up and managed to place it under his ankle, ideally he'd have liked something else to place under his knee but at least this way both were elevated. Pulling the blanket up around his shoulders as he felt the chill of the night settle over the rainforest he closed his eyes and despite the none too comfortable 'bed', he fell into an exhausted sleep.

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono had slept for a couple of hours before once again reviewing the evidence they had. There was little to go on and there was nothing that they had missed. The three were struggling to accept that they had no clues as to where Danny was and just stood around the computer table staring at it as if something would jump out at them. Steve's cell ringing broke them out of it.

"McGarrett."

"Steve, its Charlie, I've got something!"

"What?" Steve asked flipping his phone to speaker so that the others could hear.

"A fingerprint on one of the casings! I'm sending you the information now."

Kono quickly pulled the information up on the computer table and put it up on the middle plasma.

"Jerry Donaldson, twenty six, history of breaking and entering. We have an address for him," Chin read out.

"Let's go. Great job Charlie!" Steve told the tech before hanging up and rushing out the door.

Fifteen minutes later the three team mates pulled up outside a house that had definitely seen better days. There was no car in the drive but they could see movement in the house. Strapping on their vests, just in case of trouble, Steve then instructed Chin to go round the back while he and Kono knocked on the door.

A couple of minutes later their knock was answered by an elderly lady. White haired, bent over practically double with a cane in her left hand, "What?" she barked in a voice that was tinged with wariness.

"Commander McGarrett, Officer Kalakaua with 5-0. We're looking for Jerry Donaldson."

"What has that good for nothing grandson of mine done this time?"

"His fingerprints were found at a crime scene," Steve supplied.

"Just like his damn father. Can't stay outta trouble! Come in," she pushed the screen door open, "Tell that young man out back he can come through, you can check the other rooms on the way back," catching a questioning look from Kono the elderly lady turned to her, "I may be old dear, but I ain't stupid! Years of police knocking on my door for either my son or grandson, there's always at least one of you out the back."

Steve couldn't help but smile. This lady clearly had all her marbles; hopefully she'd be able to help them locate her grandson, "Ma'am…"

"Don't you ma'am me, young 'un. You can call me Mrs Donaldson if you must, but I'd prefer Ivy. Ma'am makes me feel old!"

Chin followed Kono back into the room and smiled at that last comment. They had taken Ivy up on her offer to search the other rooms. There was a room that was clearly used by her grandson, but he wasn't in it and it didn't look like he'd been there in a while.

"Alright, Ivy, do you know where your grandson is?"

"Not a clue. He got out of prison for the second time about, oh, three months ago. His parole officer helped him get a job, nothing fancy, just working in one of them auto repair places. Couldn't even manage to hold that down, lost the job after two weeks. Comes and goes using my home like it's a damn hotel!"

"Ivy, when did you last see him?" asked Chin, knowing that if he let her she could probably go on for a long time about her grandson and all his failings.

"About ten days ago. He came home, middle of the afternoon. Gave me $100 dollars, kissed my cheek, impudent young whippersnapper, told me not to worry and he'd send me more money when he could. Didn't give me a chance to ask him no questions," Ivy shook her head, "I went in his room after he was gone and noticed that he'd taken most of his clothes."

"Can you tell us where he worked when he first got out of prison?"

"Huh, can't remember the name of the place. Got no use for auto repair shops myself since I can't drive no more," Ivy looked around and spotted something on the side, her body may be failing her but her mind and eyesight were as sharp as ever, "Look, over on that side table by the phone. Should be a card there, Jerry put it there in case I needed anything while he was at work. Ha! Like he'd be the first person I'd call if I needed something. Irresponsible, ungrateful, no good…"

"Got it," interrupted Kono before the elderly woman could get properly going.

"Do you know any of his friends at all?" Chin asked.

"Nope. Don't wanna know 'em either. Caught glimpses of 'em when they'd come by the house to pick him up to go out. Didn't look like there was a good one among 'em!"

"Thank you for your time Ivy. If you hear from Jerry please don't tell him we're looking for him and call us. A man's life may depend on it," Steve instructed.

"Hang on a minute there, my grandson is no killer. He's stupid and easily led, but he wouldn't kill anyone!"

"Not saying he would Ivy. Look I can't tell you exactly what's going on, this is part of an on-going investigation, but a man I consider a brother is missing and Jerry may have information about it."

Ivy stared at Steve as if considering not only what he was saying but the truth in the words. Seeming to like what she saw she nodded, "I'll call. Hope you find him," she went to get out of her chair.

"Thank you for your help Ivy, stay there we can see ourselves out," stated Chin with a grateful smile.

Once out the door the three friends hurried to Steve's truck so that they could go to the repair shop that Jerry had worked in. They arrived at the shop just as it was about to close.

"Commander McGarrett, 5-0, looking for the owner," Steve introduced himself to a man just locking up.

"That's me. Pete Jones. What can I do for you?" the man turned to face the members of 5-0 a look of curiosity on his face.

"We're looking for information on Jerry Donaldson. His grandmother told us he worked for you for a short time."

"Short time is right. Lasted two weeks before I fired him," he shook his head in disgust, "I gave him the job as a favour to a friend, won't make that mistake again."

"What did you fire him for?"

"Take your pick. Poor time keeping, laziness, bad attitude. He'd turn up late and then his friends would drop by throughout the day and he'd just stop what he was doing to talk to them!"

"Did you know any of them? Overhear any names? Would you recognise any of them if you saw them again?"

"Didn't recognise any of 'em. He called one of them Mal. I would know 'em again if I saw 'em, yeah."

"Would you be prepared to come to HPD and work with a sketch artist?"

"I can do better than that. I've got security cameras," he smiled at the look of surprise, "I know it's probably unusual for an auto shop to have cameras, but I stock a lot of speciality and expensive parts. There's a camera that looks out onto the front which was mostly where his friends would stop and I keep a backup of all footage for six months," as he spoke he unlocked the door and stepped inside. When he came back out he handed Steve a disc.

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem, if there's anything else you need, let me know," Pete stated as he shook the proffered hands before climbing into his own car and driving off.

"Let's get this back to the Palace," Steve climbed in behind the wheel of his own vehicle and drove them, at speed, back to their office. At last something to work with.

-5-0-

Danny woke with a start, momentarily forgetting where he was. It hit him with the force of a sledgehammer and he groaned. He was in a rainforest trying to find his way out. It was clearly still early as there was only a little light making it through the tree canopy. How in the hell did he find himself in these situations anyway? He gingerly rolled up the leg of his pants to see his still swollen knee and ankle. It was better than it had been the previous night, but he knew walking on it today wouldn't do it much good.

He inspected his right hand and the red raw skin, blisters broken open and knew that using his 'walking stick' was going to hurt too. Deciding that padding his hand was more important than protecting his arms from the chill at night he ripped one of his sleeves off his shirt and wrapped it around his hand. A couple of mouthfuls of water and a bite of the second, and last, energy bar and he was on his feet.

He'd been in the rainforest two nights, which meant today was Tuesday. Tonight was the night that his kidnappers were going to pull their heist. There was no question, he was getting out of this forest today, finding Steve and letting him know what was going to happen and then sleeping for at least a week in a comfortable bed! His own damn bed, not Super SEAL's guestroom bed!

A new determination filtered through the detective and he hobbled with a little more speed, continuing down the hill as he had been before. As the morning wore on though his pace became slower. His muscles were cramping and he was feeling distinctly nauseous, he stopped, resting against a tree fearing that if he sat down he might not make it back to his feet. He took a drink from his nearly depleted bottle of water and pushed his left hand through his sweat soaked hair. He didn't think it was any hotter today, but he certainly felt like he was sweating more.

Deciding he had taken enough of a break he pushed on. Tired and aching he couldn't wait to find help and get back to civilisation. He knew people paid good money to come to the islands and hike through these rainforests, but he'd be happy if he never entered one again. He was sure given the right circumstances he'd be in awe of the tall canopy and the birds with multi-coloured feathers that were flying above his head, but that ship had sailed a long time ago as far as Danny was concerned. If Grace ever wanted to go into the rainforest for a hike then Step-Stan could take her, or better yet, Steve, Chin and Kono. It would be a cold day in hell before he would willingly step foot in another rainforest.

Distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice the large raised tree root in front of him and he tripped over it, landing with a resounding thud and a whoosh of air as his ribs made contact with the ground. Danny swore enough to turn the air around him blue. The pain in his ankle and knee was loud and clear from the tumble he'd taken. Lying on the ground he gave himself a minute to get the desire to vomit under control and then managed to sit up. He could now add something else to his list of woes, a sharp pain in his chest, trying to take a deep breath only made it worse. The detective had a sinking feeling that he might have actually broken a rib or two when he hit the ground, probably one of the cracked ones that were still healing.

Now more than ever he needed to get out of this forest and find help. His right leg was now worse and breathing hurt. He was exhausted and probably suffering from dehydration. Gathering as much determination as he could muster, he somehow made it back to his feet and continued his trek down the hillside, though this time the pace was much slower and he was more careful. A cough started to develop which meant he paused every time it happened so he could catch his breath. It was on one such occasion that he noticed that the terrain around him had changed. He was still surrounded by trees, but finally it looked like he had stumbled across some kind of trail. There was still a choice of uphill or downhill, but Danny decided he was in no condition for an uphill climb and set off downhill.

He hadn't been on the trail for more than fifteen minutes when a wave of nausea hit him and the resultant spasms dropped him to the ground as he emptied what little there had been in his stomach. Shuffling away from the area he found a tree to lean against and wrapped his arms around his torso, trying desperately to help his ribs as he tried to take deep breaths. Finally he was too weak to carry on, the overwhelming dizziness when he lifted his head and looked around, combined with a headache was just too much. Closing his eyes he drifted into unconsciousness.

-5-0-

"This is awesome," said a young woman, in her mid-twenties, to her group of friends.

"It's the more difficult of the two major hiking trails in the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve," stated their guide, "but the view when we get to the top will be well worth it. The reserve itself is 600 square miles. This trail is just over two point five miles. When we reach the end of the trail the view will be over the Upper Manoa Valley…" the guide was interrupted by another member of the group.

"Hey, is that someone sitting on the trail?" this from a man in his late twenties. He quickly jogged to where he was pointing, the guide joining him, "He doesn't look good."

The guide placed his fingers on the man's carotid pulse and was relieved to feel the beat under his fingers, even if it wasn't particularly strong, "Sir, can you hear me?" he gently tapped the man's face.

Danny regained consciousness surrounded by strange people and promptly started to try and get away. An older man, probably in his forties turned to the group with him and waved his hand to signal them back.

"Sir, my name's Hal, I'm a guide. I'm not going to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?"

The voice stopped Danny in his tracks. A guide? What? He looked around him, noticed the trees and he realised where he was, even if he couldn't quite remember how he got there.

"Danny," his voice was raspy.

"OK, Danny, I want you to stay nice and still for me, I'm just going to check you for injuries," Hal used his best soothing voice. The guides were all trained in first aid, but normally the worst he had to deal with was a blister or a sprain.

"Ribs hurt and my… my right leg," Danny supplied.

Nodding Hal rolled up the right leg of Danny's pants and saw the swelling, "We need to get you off the trail and to a hospital," he turned to another woman standing nearby, "Shelley, can you give him a little water, only a couple of small sips and put this over him," he handed her a blanket. Turning away he pulled out his radio to request a medevac.

A bottle was pressed against his lips and Danny obediently opened his mouth and drunk some water when prompted, although it was taken away before he could quench his thirst. Then a foil blanket was wrapped around him and for the first time in two days he felt like he could relax a little. At that thought he lost consciousness again.

The next time he woke up it was to someone shining a light in his eyes and he tried to pull away but hands stopped him from moving, "You're OK Danny. I'm a medic. My name is Mags, I'm going to get you hooked up to some fluids and oxygen then get you to a hospital. Can you tell me what hurts?" she wanted to use the question to assess his awareness having already been told about his leg.

"My right leg," he tried to take a deep breath as he felt the oxygen mask being placed over his face but winced at the pain it caused, "Chest and ribs."

"We're going to put you on this board and then place you in a litter and then you're going to be winched into a chopper. Alright?"

"OK." Danny felt there was something important he needed to tell her, but it was at the edge of his awareness, just out of reach.

Mags, with the help of some of the hiking group, moved Danny onto the board and into the litter, eliciting a cry of pain from her patient.

"Danny?" she knelt down by him.

"Can't… breathe…"

Mags pressed her fingers to his pulse and found that it had become rapid and there was a hint of blue around Danny's lips. Using her stethoscope she lifted the tattered remains of his shirt and pressed it against his ribs so she could listen to his lungs. Diminished sounds on the right side told her all she needed to know, he had a tension pneumothorax. Opening her bag she pulled out a needle and inserted it into his chest cavity and then listened to his lungs again, relieved to hear some improvement. Taping the needle to her patient's chest she strapped herself to the litter and radioed the chopper to come and airlift them off the trail.

Once the litter was secured in the chopper they flew off towards Queens and would land in a matter of minutes. Mags rested a reassuring hand on her patient's shoulder. Unfortunately Danny wasn't being very co-operative. He'd remembered that he needed to speak to Steve and was trying to tell her but between the noise of the chopper and the mask it was difficult for him to make his voice heard, so he tried to remove the mask. Mags was having none of it and batted his hands away. He was tired, in pain and quite frankly just wanted to let the darkness take him but couldn't allow that to happen until he'd spoken to his partner.

The medic was relieved when they landed at Queens and she could hand over his care to the doctor's. Despite the morphine she'd given him and the injuries he had sustained he was still conscious and fighting. She gave the doctor attending all the information she had and then left her patient in the hospitals capable hands.

"Take him through to trauma one," the doctor in the ER instructed as the patient was brought down from the helipad on the roof. Given the information they'd received on the radio it was agreed that two doctors would be required to treat this patient.

It wasn't until the patient was hooked up to all the necessary monitors that the doctor looked at his patient, "Danny?"

"Henry," the reply was muffled by the mask but could just be heard, "Need Steve."

"I'm sure he's here somewhere, you can see him when we've got you stabilised," he told him as he watched the oxygen sats on the monitor, "Need to prep for a chest tube please."

"No!" Danny tried to shout, but it wasn't possible, however the urgent tone in his voice did manage to get Henry's attention.

"What is it Danny?"

"Need to speak to Steve."

"Can someone check if Commander McGarrett is in the waiting area please?"

"Doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what Danny?"  
>"That I'm here."<p>

"He wasn't with you?"

"No."

"Chin, Kono?"

"No."

"I'll make sure someone calls him now, but you need to let me treat your collapsed lung. The needle the medic placed is only alleviating the problem temporarily; I need to put in a chest tube to fully re-inflate it."

"Speak to Steve… first."

"No, I need to do this now Danny."

"No drugs."

"A local anaesthetic, that's all," promised Henry.

"'K.'

"Commander McGarrett is on his way Doctor Jensen," Nurse Eve advised as she entered the room. She squeezed Danny's hand, "He told me to tell you not to go anywhere."

Danny rolled his eyes in response and then closed them briefly as he felt the sting of a needle on his right side as the doctor administered the local anaesthetic that would allow him to make the small incision necessary to place the chest tube.

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono were in their own offices going through the camera footage that Pete had provided having located the two week window where Jerry worked for him and then divided it up so that they would hopefully get through it quicker. They all worked through the night and when they were each done they gathered around the computer table once again to look at the stills they had pulled from the footage. They didn't recognise anyone so Kono started putting them through facial recognition software in the hope they would get a hit.

Chin once again insisted on a couple of hours rest, if the software got a hit an alert would sound that would wake them, otherwise they were just waiting again.

It wasn't the computer that woke Steve but his cell, "McGarrett… What?... When?... Yes, I'll be right there. Tell him not to go anywhere!" Jumping up from his couch he grabbed his keys and ran out into the main office calling for Chin and Kono, "Danny's been found, he's at Queens!"

A matter of seconds after hearing the news the three team mates were on their way out the door to Steve's truck. Chin and Kono barely got their doors closed before Steve peeled out of the Palace parking lot and accelerated down the street towards Queens. When they reached the hospital Steve threw the truck into a space not caring if it was legal or not and ran into the ER.

"Steve McGarrett, my partner, Danny Williams, has been brought here."

"Just a moment Mr McGarrett," responded the receptionist politely, clearly new and unaware of whom she was talking to.

"That's Commander McGarrett and I don't have a moment. My partner was asking for me and I want to see him _now_!" The last word was emphasised with the flat of his hand hitting the desk in front of her.

"If you don't calm down _Commander_ McGarrett, I will have security remove you!"

"That won't be necessary, just let Doctor Jensen know that Detective Williams' family is here, please," said Chin stepping in before Steve really lost his temper.

Eyeing the three people before her she decided that complying with the older man's request would be wise and asked one of the nurses nearby to locate Doctor Jensen and pass on the message.

-5-0-

"There you go Danny. That should help with the pain in your chest and your breathing," Henry told him.

Danny merely nodded as he watched more blood being taken for a multitude of tests that the doctor had requested.

"Doctor Jensen," a nurse poked her head round the door, "Detective Williams' family is here and they're making quite a scene in reception," she told him before disappearing.

"Steve," stated Danny quietly.

"No doubt," Henry agreed, patting his patient on the arm, "I'll go and get him, but then you're going to submit to x-rays, all the tests and treatment I want to subject you to, deal?"

"Deal," Danny agreed, he was too tired to argue but he didn't have to let Henry know that. He watched the doctor leave the room before allowing his eyes to close while he waited.

"Henry!" Steve called as he saw him approach.

"Steve, Chin, Kono," he reached out and shook the proffered hands of the team; "He's this way." As they passed the desk Steve shot the receptionist a deadly glare followed by a smug smile as he followed Doctor Jensen into the ER, "I've just inserted a chest tube because Danny's right lung had collapsed. He's clearly suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, as for any other injuries there's a problem with his right leg but I need to do x-rays and Danny refused any further treatment until he'd spoken to you."

"Problem with his right leg? It's not his knee again is it?" asked Kono.

"Both his ankle and knee are badly swollen. I won't know more until I can get x-rays and maybe a scan. I can only allow one of you in," he said as he stopped outside the door to the trauma room.

"Henry, Danny has been missing for two days, we have no idea where he's been or what happened to cause his injuries…" Steve trailed off.

"Alright, you can all go in, but keep it brief and don't let him get overexcited or he could pull out the chest tube."

"Thanks Henry," Steve smiled in relief as the three friends stepped into the trauma room. Danny was resting on his back, sheet pulled up to his waist, a tube coming from his right side. All the skin they could see, apart from that surrounding the chest tube, was filthy. It looked like he was sleeping and they didn't want to disturb him so started to back out when they were pinned by two pale blue eyes which changed their direction back towards the bed.

"Hey," Steve placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, while Chin and Kono lined up beside him, trying to stay out of the way of all the monitors and medical personnel.

"Steve?"

"Yeah buddy, I'm here. It's OK; you can get some rest now. Let the nurses take care of you."

"Need to tell you what happened."

"You can tell me later, you need to rest."

"Important!" Danny threw his left hand up in the air to try and emphasise his point.

"You need to stay calm brah," Kono grabbed his hand and laid it back on the bed, "Or Henry will kick us out."

"Keep it brief and tell us only what we need to know right this minute then," suggested Chin.

"Distraction. Planning to steal Crown Jewels."

Steve, Chin and Kono all exchanged looks of confusion. Was Danny delirious from exhaustion and dehydration?

Danny took as deep a breath as he could manage. He needed to be clearer but get across to the rest of the team what had happened as briefly as possible, "Take me, distract you," he indicated the three people standing by the bed, "Didn't want you interviewing the diamond heist crew as worried they would give you intel on the second crew."

"Wait, the guys that were busted after the shooting in the park?"

"Yes."

"There were more people?"

"A second crew."

"Who have planned another robbery?"

"Yes. Crown Jewels."

"I thought the Crown Jewels were kept at the Bishop Museum under lock and key?" Steve turned to Chin and Kono.

"Normally they are, but there's been an exhibition of pieces from the museum as well as private collectors being shown at Queen Emma's Summer Palace," Kono supplied, pulling out her phone and going on the internet, "The exhibition consists of King Kalakau's 11.75 carat diamond; the miniatures of the Royal Order, which is made of 18 carat gold and has ten diamonds; an 18 carat gold gemstone ring. There are other pieces, but I think that gives you an idea of the value of the exhibit!"

"Danno, did they say when?"

"Tonight."

"Well security will be tight around the Summer Palace;" Chin was thinking out loud, "Maybe one of those men we saw with Jerry Donaldson has a job that would allow them access."

"Alright, get back to the office and see if anything has come up on facial recognition," Steve ordered Chin and Kono, "Can you identify any of the men that took you Danny?"

"No, wore masks."

"Times up," Henry strode back into the room, "Danny I need to get these x-rays done."

"We'll be back to see you later Danny," assured Chin.

"No giving Henry a hard time brah," Kono told him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

That just left Steve, who looked torn. Danny knew that he wanted to stay but that he wanted to go with the others as well.

"Go! Arrest the bad guys. I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you sure Danno?"

"Yes Rambo! Go do your thing," Danny gave him a weak smile.

"Henry call if there's any change or he needs anything?"

"Absolutely," Henry agreed.

"I'll be back later to check on you."

"Go Super SEAL," Danny batted at his arm, though there was no strength in the movement.

A final squeeze to Danny's shoulder and Steve went with Chin and Kono to hopefully prevent the theft of the Crown Jewels and catch the people that had taken Danny.

"Alright Danny, let's get these x-rays done."

At last Danny felt he was able to rest and let his eyes close. The darkness that had been calling to him ever since he had been found on the trail was finally allowed to take over completely.

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono sat anxiously by Danny's bed. He'd now been asleep for nearly twenty four hours. Doctor Jensen assured them that under the circumstances it was quite normal and the best thing for him. Rachel and Grace had been in twice to see him and been disappointed to find that he was still sleeping, they would be back again later.

Apart from the collapsed lung, caused by a broken rib puncturing it, Danny had also sustained a badly bruised knee and sprained ankle. The nursing staff were regularly icing these and had also ensured that the limb remained elevated. When Danny woke up they would arrange for a physiotherapist to come and see him but it would be about four weeks before he could walk without the assistance of crutches or a cane. That brought them on to the last of his injuries; his right hand was blistered and cut, the skin raw. It had been thoroughly cleaned but had become infected so he was also being given antibiotics to combat that. The injury to his right hand would mean he would be unable to use crutches initially as he wouldn't be able to put any weight on it.

Henry had told them that the chest tube would remain in place for another two days and as long as there were no further issues he would be released in three. The hand may have healed enough by then to use but only time would tell.

A groan from the bed brought all three to their feet and they held their breath as they waited to see if Danny was actually going to wake up this time. Their wait was rewarded when two blue eyes opened and looked around the room clearly trying to work out where he was.

"Hey Danno, it's OK, you're in hospital," Steve rested a hand on Danny's arm to stop him moving about too much.

"Figured that much," Danny replied in a husky voice.

"Why'd you say that?" Kono asked offering him a drink of water via a straw.

"Thanks," he took a few sips before it was taken away, "You're all hovering round me with wide eyes and worried expressions!"

"Worried? Us? Nah."

"Don't listen to him brah. Yes, we were worried. You went missing for two days," Chin told him as Kono thumped Steve on the arm.

"Did you catch the Crown Jewel thieves?" asked Danny, thinking again that it sounded like something out of a movie.

"Yeah, caught 'em red handed! They started singing like the proverbial canaries when we got them back to HPD!" Steve grinned.

Doctor Jensen arrived to check on his patient and chased them all out of the room. When he was finished he was pleased with the progress and told them all that Danny was on track for being released in three days.

Danny gave Steve a steely eyed look, not quite the SEAL thousand yard stare, but a very good imitation.

"What?"

"I'm going back to my apartment Steven! I slept in the damn rainforest for two nights and I want my _own_ bed, in my _own_ place!"

"OK."

"That's it? Just OK?"

"Yep."

"No, but Danno it's not safe?"

"Nope."

"Huh. Who are you and what have you done with the real Steve McGarrett?" Danny asked suspiciously.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Look, you said yourself you survived on your own in the rainforest; I think you can survive in your own apartment!"

Danny was stumped; he'd been expecting a fight. At the very least a token protestation, instead he got implicit agreement. What the hell was going on?

Steve leaned forward in his chair, making sure he made eye contact with his brother, "You wanna know the reason those wannabe Crown Jewel thieves got caught, the one mistake they made?"

"What's that?"

"They underestimated you. They didn't think you could find your own way out of that rainforest."

"I proved them wrong!" scoffed Danny.

"Yes, you did and I don't plan on making that same mistake."

Danny's eyes nearly popped out of his head and his jaw nearly hit the floor in shock. Steve was, in a roundabout kind of way, admitting that not allowing him to return to his apartment would be underestimating him.

Steve sat back in his chair a smug grin on his face. He loved it when he could render his partner speechless. He'd better make the most of it because he had a feeling that would change when he discovered that although he was going back to his own apartment Steve was going to be staying with him while he recovered!

**-5-0-**

**A/N: I didn't even know Hawaii had Crown Jewels, but when I looked up jewels that may have belonged to Queen Emma, what do you know, there are several articles that refer to them. There was also a beautiful diamond butterfly brooch that didn't get mentioned in the story. x**


	22. V is for Virus

**DISCLAIMER: Go back and read the previous chapters, they all have disclaimers!**

**A/N: Thanks for reading, reviewing and alerting, you guys & gals are the best. **

**Now I feel that there is something that I have to address. A couple of different people have now suggested that when I finish this I do the same for Steve. Now I love the guy, he's cute, got a nice butt (sorry did I really share that?) but I have an affinity for Danny. I just don't think I could do a Steve whump A to Z justice. If someone else would like to tackle the idea, then great. Sorry to those hoping I would do it. I'm happy to help anyone that would like to give it a go.**

**On a completely separate note, can I just say Daniel Dae Kim is a really nice bloke! He did a live chat on both Facebook and Twitter. I read the one on Facebook but took part on the one on Twitter and he kindly answered both my questions. What a nice thing to do for his fans and those of the show. Anyway, enough wittering on with the story!**

**V is for Virus**

Steve McGarrett ran his eyes over his team's locations, ensuring that they were all where they were supposed to be. They were preparing to assist HPD with a raid on a warehouse that was believed to be part of a large drug smuggling ring. If the intel was correct then seizing the drugs and arresting the men that were in this warehouse would put a huge dent in incoming drug supplies and hopefully give them enough to go after the person behind it, someone who had remained surprisingly anonymous.

Kono was about fifteen feet away to his left, with Chin on her other side and Danny was to Steve's right. A SWAT team were round the back of the warehouse ready to enter at the HPD Captain's say so. The warehouse sat at the very end of one of the docks and there were several boats moored that the drug runners were believed to use for their pickups so there was also an HPD boat ready to come in if anyone tried to get away by boat.

The 5-0 team were behind some crates, which seemed to always be handily available for cover whenever they came on one of these raids, one day the bad guys might get wise to that fact, but today was not that day. It was hard for Steve to not be the one in charge of the raid, but 5-0 were included to increase manpower and to try to improve relations between them and HPD. In order for relations to improve HPD officers needed to see that Steve was as capable of following orders from their boss as he was of giving them.

Danny crouched down behind a crate, poised and ready to move forward when he received the order. Honestly he could have done without this today. He'd woken up feeling tired and rundown for some inexplicable reason. The ache in his body was almost like he'd gone for a run and swim with Super SEAL, which he hadn't. Of course he hadn't shared this information with the team. Why? Well they were more than a little overprotective and the last thing he wanted was to be put on desk duty because he was feeling a little tired! The last few weeks had seen them working a heavy case load with barely a day off to rest in between, so they were all tired. Danny only had to last a couple more days and it would be the weekend, the Governor had promised them that they wouldn't be called unless there was a major case that required their expertise.

The detective was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of the HPD Captain in his ear ordering the go. Without further thought Danny was up and moving forward, weapon sweeping back and forth in case they had been spotted. Their luck was in, it seemed the drug smugglers were overly confident and hadn't posted a watch which meant that 5-0, SWAT and HPD made it to the warehouse entrances without incident. Once inside, that was a whole different story!

The entrance of SWAT was spotted just as HPD and 5-0 entered the front and they came under fire. The four members of 5-0 divided up and took different areas of the warehouse, following a different team of HPD officers each as previously agreed. Danny followed the two men and one woman he was teamed with to the right of the warehouse where a dozen offices were located; it was their job to clear those offices. Danny paired with the female officer, Ana, while the other two male officers paired up and they searched alternate offices. It wasn't until Danny followed Ana into the last office that the anomaly was spotted, a door leading from the warehouse that wasn't on their blueprints, the door was ajar and Danny could just make out the blue of the ocean in between more crates.

Ana looked at Danny and he shrugged, this wasn't 5-0's operation, as far as he was concerned he was following her lead.

"Command, this is Team 4," she spoke into her mic.

"Go ahead Team 4."

"Last office on the right has a door to the dock. We're going to check it out."

"Copy that Team 4."

Ana stood to one side of the door with Danny on the other. She used hand signals to indicate she'd take the right and he should take the left then held up three fingers and Danny nodded his understanding, she then counted to three using her left hand, her weapon firmly held in her right. When the third finger rose she pushed open the door fully and swept the area as she moved forward, Danny stepped out right behind her.

Danny was scanning the crates, this time they worked in favour of the drug smugglers and he didn't like it. The fact they didn't know about the door was bad enough but there was too much cover between them and the ocean. He was about to say as much to Ana and suggest they leave it to the HPD boat team when he spotted a movement.

"Down!" he yelled at the same time as pushing her to the ground. A bullet whizzed over their heads and the pair scrambled to their feet to get to the nearest crate for cover.

"Where did that come from?" Ana asked Danny, a little breathless from being flattened.

"Over there," he indicated the direction of the ocean.

"Command, this is Team 4, we are on the east side of the warehouse. Shots fired out on the dock from the direction of the ocean."

"Copy Team 4, back up is on the way."

Danny thought it was kind of nice to be working with someone that considered appropriate back up to be more than just him. He wanted to try and get an idea if it was only one perp they were dealing with so he risked peering round the side of the crate. When no bullet flew in his direction he indicated to Ana that he was going to head out and see if he could cut their perp off. She nodded and prepared to cover him if necessary.

Moving along the length of the crates away from the warehouse and towards the ocean Danny kept his eyes open for any movement. When he reached the end of the crates he came to a forty foot wide space between the last one and the edge of the dock. Glancing to his left he spotted a man who was just about to get into a boat, he was a good six inches taller than Danny and built like a body builder, he was waving a gun at an HPD officer who had the misfortune to round the back of the warehouse at just the wrong time.

The detective weighed his options. He could shout a warning, but the man would have time to shoot the officer before Danny could pull the trigger or he could just shoot the man without warning him, but that went against procedure which was something he wouldn't do unless he had no other choice. There was a third choice and Danny really didn't like it. Looking around at the ocean he wondered where in the hell the HPD boat was, not able to see it he mentally shrugged to himself, placed his gun back in its holster and charged!

-5-0-

"Team 6, this is Command."

"Go ahead Command," replied the Sergeant in charge of the team, which just happened to be the one with Steve in.

"Team 4 need back up on the east side of the warehouse. Shots fired."

"Copy that Command," the Sergeant turned to the other three men with him, "McGarrett, you're with me. Lee, Davis, come in from the back of the warehouse."

The two other officers ran to do as instructed while McGarrett shadowed the Sergeant without question. Steve had been quite impressed with the quiet confidence of the man whose team he'd joined.

Exiting the warehouse through the same door as Ana and Danny they found only the female officer.

"Where's Williams?"

"Trying to locate the perp and cut him off," indicating the direction he'd gone off in.

"Alright, continue to cover and we'll go round the other way," the Sergeant instructed her. Just before they moved off they heard a gunshot and Steve held his breath until Lee's voice came over the radio.

"This is Lee. We have one in custody; Davis is making his way towards Team 4's location."

"Copy that Lee."

The Sergeant and Steve moved slowly forward. Ahead Steve noticed Davis pass the end of the crates, glancing to the man beside him they both sped up. The fact there had been no gunshots suggested that there was nobody hiding in this section of crates. When they reached the end the SEAL swore quietly. Davis was standing with a gun trained on him, somehow a perp had got the drop on him and there was nothing Steve could do about it as the officer was standing in his line of sight. He was just about to suggest to the Sergeant that he go back round to enable him to get a line of sight when out of nowhere someone ran across the space and barrelled in to the perp without warning. The contact was followed by a loud splash as the force with which the man was tackled caused them to tumble into the ocean.

"Danny!" Steve called out as he realised who it was and he took off running, the Sergeant right beside him.

Reaching the edge he peered into the water where the ripples indicated where Danny and the man he'd tackled had gone in. The Sergeant had called it in and back up was now arriving in the form of the other teams that had finished clearing the rest of the warehouse, while Davis and Ana covered Steve's back as he was totally oblivious to his surroundings, his focus purely on the place in the water. He was just about to reach down and pull his boots off when Danny's head broke the surface, quickly followed by the other man, who just so happened to now be unconscious.

Danny towed the man behind him as he swam over to where Steve was kneeling, "Told ya I could swim!" he spluttered.

"Danno, I hardly think now's the time. Besides that's not swimming!" Steve grinned as he leaned down and with the help of Officer Davis pulled the unconscious man out of the water and laid him on the ground.

Holding onto the edge Danny was doing a good impression of a fish, which given the circumstances was very apt, "Not… Not swimming? How can it not be swimming?" if he hadn't been holding on to the edge his hands would surely have been flying through the air.

"Swimming involves, you know, strokes and actually moving forward as opposed to staying in one spot," there was a definite twinkle in Steve's eye, "Want a hand out?"

"You know what, no, you Neanderthal! I'll get myself out thank you very much!"

"Danny!" Kono's voice cut through the bickering, "Are you alright? Let me help you out," she glared at her boss as she reached down to offer him a hand, Chin right beside her.

"I'm fine babe," he told her as he accepted both her and Chin's hands. In a deft manoeuvre they had him sitting on the dock, "Thanks."

Steve's smile dropped as he watched Danny shiver and he quickly strode over to a nearby EMT, when he returned he was holding a blanket which he draped over his friend's shoulders, "You OK?" he asked, now serious.

"Yeah man, I'm fine, a little damp is all," Danny chose that moment to sneeze.

"Boss, you should take him home so he can get a warm shower and into dry clothes," suggested Kono.

"Yeah, that's…"

"Unnecessary," Danny cut Steve off, "There are showers and clean clothes back at the Palace."

"If I take you home that saves you going back to the office."

"I've got a report to write."

"That can wait till tomorrow."

"Steven, it's not even lunchtime. There is plenty of time for me to write my report today while it's fresh in my mind. Now, either you drive me to the Palace or give me the keys to _my_ car and I'll drive myself."

"Alright," Steve held his hands up, "I'll just check in with the Captain to make sure he's OK with us leaving."

Chin watched as the SEAL walked off, "Well that's an improvement."

"What's that Cuz?"

"Steve actually communicating with HPD."

"It's a start," Danny agreed, coughing a little. He caught the concerned glance that Chin and Kono exchanged, "Probably swallowed some ocean."

"Oh look there's Jake," Kono waved at the EMT who wandered over to join them.

"Hey guys."

"Jake," Danny glared at Kono knowing exactly what she had in mind.

"Hi Jake, how you doing?"

"I'm good. What happened to you?" Jake asked Danny, indicating the blanket wrapped round his shoulders.

"Took an unscheduled dip in the ocean."

"Well since you're here Jake, perhaps you could give him the once over?" suggested Kono smiling at him sweetly.

"Subtle Cuz," Chin murmured.

Jake shrugged and looked at Danny who sighed, "I tackled a suspect, we both ended up in the water. I swallowed a little water but I'm fine."

"He sneezed and coughed!" added Kono.

"I got water up my nose and swallowed some; of course I sneezed and coughed!"

"Will you let me listen to your lungs, make sure you didn't swallow too much?"

"Please Danny?" Kono pulled out the big guns again, her big brown eyes.

"Will you leave me in peace if I let him?"

"Uh huh."  
>"Fine!"<p>

Jake removed the stethoscope from round his neck and got Danny to lift up his shirt. Pressing the stethoscope to various places on his back and chest he had Danny taking deep breaths, "All sounds clear to me," he smiled at Kono.

"That's good."

"Hey Cuz, why don't we go and see if HPD need any help," suggested Chin before she could come up with anything else to annoy an already pissed off Danny. He earned himself a grateful smile from the detective.

As Jake placed his stethoscope round his neck he leaned forward and spoke quietly in Danny's ear, "Might want to get some Tylenol for that slight fever you're running," the man in question looked at him curiously, "I can feel the shivering, as well as the heat radiating off you, and I know you've been in the water, but at this time of day you should have warmed up enough to stop shivering by now."

"Thanks, I've got some in my desk," Danny smiled at the EMT. They shook hands and both headed off to their respective partners.

Steve walked over to meet Danny, "Captain says we're good to go and has asked that our reports be on his desk by tomorrow morning. You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

When they got back to the Palace Danny got his clean, not to mention dry, clothes from his desk drawer then headed for a nice hot shower. If he took a little bit longer than he might have normally nobody mentioned it. Once done he returned to his office, grabbed a bottle of water and, after checking that his three team mates were busy, pulled out the Tylenol and took a couple. Despite the hot shower he was now shivering slightly again.

The rest of the day passed without incident. All four members were busy writing their reports before handing them over to Steve for signing and passing on to the HPD Captain. After taking the Tylenol Danny's shivering had more or less stopped with just the occasional shudder running through him, which he could disguise easily if someone was watching him at the time.

"Let's call it a night," ordered Steve as he signed the final report. He'd drop it off at HPD on his way home, "Anyone up for beers and steak?"

"Not tonight brah. Malia and I have plans."

"Yeah, so do I, sorry boss."

"Danny?"

"Not tonight Steve thanks."

"Oh?"

"I have a lot of stuff to catch up on at the apartment considering we've had very little downtime the last three weeks."

"I hear ya. OK, see you tomorrow. If you change your mind gimme a call."

-5-0-

The next morning Danny felt worse than the previous day. His throat and mouth were dry, his nose running and his eyes watering. The ache in his body had been joined by a constant nagging headache. Groaning he rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to locate the Tylenol he kept in the cabinet there. Glancing in the mirror he cringed, his eyes were actually blood shot. No way were Steve, Chin and Kono going to be fooled when he told them he was fine. Going into the kitchen he got a glass of water so he could take the pills, then padded back to the bedroom and picked up his cell. After completing his call he went and took a shower before getting ready for his day.

Danny was later into the office than normal but was still in before what was considered the start of the work day. One look at him had Steve, Chin and Kono wanting to question him, exactly as he knew they would.

Putting his hands up he stopped them the moment they opened their mouths, "I've seen my doctor and he says it's just a cold."

"Is he sure?" Kono asked, "Did you tell him you took a dip in the ocean yesterday?"

"I did and he said although it probably didn't help it has no bearing on the fact that I now have a full blown cold. I've probably been getting it for a few days."

"Maybe you should go home brah," suggested Chin.

"I'm fine; well apart from a little bit annoyed to get a cold when the weather's so damn warm!"

"OK, well you can stay in the office today. There's plenty to do," Steve stated.

"You mean I can catch up on your paperwork for you!" scoffed Danny.

The SEAL gave a nonchalant shrug, "Well if you've got the time…"

Danny rolled his eyes, "Just put it on my desk."

Steve grinned and quickly went to his office to get it while Danny got a drink of water out of the fridge, "I'm going to take Chin and Kono to speak to the witness in the home invasion case. Will you be OK?"

"Yes, Super SEAL, I'll be fine," Danny sneezed and Kono appeared in his office with a box of tissues, "Thanks. Now go!"

"If you're sure."

"Yes, positive. Leave me in peace to enjoy my day of paperwork," another sneeze.

Danny gave a sigh of relief as the three left the office and he sat behind his desk to start wading through the paperwork that his boss had thus far managed to avoid doing.

A couple of hours later and he was sitting in his chair, a file open in front of him, corresponding forms on the screen, but he wasn't taking any of it in. His body was wracked by shivers and he'd developed a cough that was making his headache pound. Giving up on trying to complete the current paperwork he reached into his drawer for more Tylenol and got up to get a fresh bottle of water. A wave of dizziness swept over him but he shook it off and managed to get the water, taking the Tylenol. He then headed to the men's room. Once he'd finished taking care of business he went back to his office, his whole body ached and he felt like he could no longer stay upright, maybe Chin had been right and he should have gone home, too late now though, he had neither the energy nor the inclination to get in his car and drive, instead he collapsed onto the couch in his office and curled up to try to keep warm.

When Steve, Chin and Kono returned he was still on the couch, except he'd managed to fall asleep, despite the coughing, now blocked nose, headache and constant shivering, so he didn't hear them coming into the main office chatting and laughing.

"Yo, Danno! We've bought lunch!" Steve called out.

"Yeah come on Danny, we've got your favourite, ham and pineapple pizza," snickered Kono.

"Oh, that's cold Cuz! We got you some soup," Chin added as he headed to Danny's office while Steve and Kono pulled out the food, "Danny?" he opened the office door which had been pulled shut and spotted the sleeping man. Quickly he knelt down next to him, "Danny?"

"Huh?" Danny barely opened his eyes to look at his friend.

"Man, you're burning up."

"Chin?" Kono's voice came from the doorway.

"He's got a fever," he told his cousin.

"Steve!" she called over her shoulder.

"What's up?" he asked as he approached the door to his partner's office.

"Looks like Danny has more than a cold. He's got a temperature," Chin told him.

Steve crouched down next to the couch, "Danny?" he could almost feel the heat radiating off him and watched as shivers ran through his whole body.

"Steve?" bleary eyes turned to him.

"I think I should take you home," the SEAL replied.

"'M fine!"

"If you can call shivering and running a temperature fine, then sure!" Steve growled.

"Steve," Chin's tone contained a warning, "Why don't we eat our lunch first and I'll call Malia?"

"Danny do you think you could manage some soup?" Kono asked.

Finally feeling a little more awake Danny took in his friends and then assessed how he was feeling, which was pretty crappy but he thought maybe some soup would be nice, "Yeah, I can try."

Kono left the room while Steve and Chin helped Danny to sit up. When she came back she had a mug in her hands, "Thought this might be easier than a bowl for you," she smiled and handed the mug to Danny.

"Thanks," he took it in his shaking hands and wrapped them around the mug. He may have a fever but he felt chilled to the bone. Kono handed Steve the sandwich he'd chosen while she and Chin went back to the main office to eat theirs, as well as to enable to Chin to call Malia without any protest from Danny.

Steve ate his lunch while making sure to keep an eye on Danny; he didn't want his friend spilling hot soup down his front. Half way through drinking the soup Danny decided he'd had enough and put the mug down on the table next to the couch before listlessly flopping back down. Once Steve had finished his lunch he cleared away the mug and came back into the office with a blanket that he laid over his partner.

Danny pulled it up under his chin and mumbled gratefully, "Thanks."

Steve merely smiled before pulling the visitor's chair over to sit next to him, "Just get some rest."

"Hmm," was the only response he received.

-5-0-

Malia entered the 5-0 offices and gave Chin a kiss on the cheek by way of greeting, "Hey. You said Danny's sick?"

"Hi," he replied giving her a brief hug, "Yeah, he wasn't too good this morning but said he'd been to his doctor who said it was just a cold."

"Hey Malia," Kono greeted the other woman as she stepped out of her office, "It's more than a cold. He's got a fever and is shivering."

"Alright, let me take a look, but it sounds like he might have flu."

"We just didn't want to take any chances after everything he's been through…" Steve told her as she entered the office.

"Understandable," she placed her cool hand on Danny's head and felt the heat of the fever that had been mentioned.

Danny opened his eyes at the contact, rubbing them to clear the blurry vision so he could see who was perched on the edge of the couch, "Malia?"

"Hi Danny, Chin called and said you weren't feeling well."

"It's a cold," he tried to glare at the others but they made a hasty retreat, "Cowards!" he called out before starting to cough.

"Here, have a drink," Malia handed him a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Danny gratefully sipped the water, letting the cool liquid soothe his throat, "They're overreacting you know."

"I'm sure they are, but since I'm here why don't I take a look at you."

"Fine," he shrugged.

Malia smiled and pulled her bag closer. She took his temperature, blood pressure and pulse, examined his ears, nose and throat, "How are you feeling in yourself?"

"Tired, I ache all over and my head hurts," he wasn't complaining, just being honest.

"You've got flu. A nasty virus but I think you'll survive," she squeezed his hand gently.

"I didn't think I wouldn't! It's them out there," he waved at the people standing outside his office waiting for Malia's verdict.

"They worry about you."

"I know. I worry about them too, but it's the flu, not the damn plague!" sighed Danny.

Malia waved them back into the office, "Danny has good old fashioned flu. I prescribe rest, plenty of fluids and Tylenol to help with the fever and the aches. He'll probably be out of action for a week or so."

"Urgh," was Danny's response to that.

Grinning Malia patted his shoulder, "I know, but flu isn't like a cold Danny. You need to take the time to get over it or you could end up extending your illness."

"Come on Danny," Kono stepped forward and helped him sit up, "Let's get you home and tucked into bed."

"Promise me that you'll be the one tucking me in and not Super SEAL?" there was a tiny glint of mischief in the fever glazed eyes.

"Danny!" Chin gave a mock growl.

"Hey, no energy for any funny business," he told the older man.

"I'm going to go and buy some supplies and swing by my place to get some clothes Danny, so won't be me making sure you're in bed," Steve assured his friend.

"Clothes?"

"Danny you can hardly sit up, you don't think I'm going to leave you to fend for yourself do you? I'll crash at yours for a few nights until you're feeling better."

Not up to arguing Danny merely shrugged, at least the man wasn't insisting he go to Chez McGarrett again. He was afraid that if Steve got him back there he'd never be allowed to leave. Besides he did have a point he didn't have the energy to get off the couch so he was hardly in a position to take care of himself. Who was he to argue if his ohana wanted to nurse him through the flu?

He'd probably get a chance to return the favour anyway, not one of them seemed to have thought about the possibility that they could catch what he had! There was a kind of sick satisfaction in that because whatever they put him through, he'd be able to pay them back in the same way! The thought put a small smile on his face, which had his friend's seen it, would have worried them.

-5-0-

**A/N: Sorry this was so short, but I think Danny needed a little rest from all the pain and anguish I've caused him and I really didn't want to drag out a flu chapter, though I'm sure I could have with delirious talk and other things! lol**


	23. W is for Water

**DISCLAIMER: Still don't own it. Yadda yadda.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, alerts etc. This chapter comes partly because of a comment Synbou made in her review for chapter 8. It's not exactly what she asked for, but it's kinda, sorta! A reminder that I am not a medical professional!**

**W is for Water**

Steve, Chin and Kono would be astounded if they could see their fourth team member at this moment. Danny Williams was spending the weekend with his daughter and he had, at her request, taken her to Waimanalo Beach for the day. The reason they would be so taken aback by this turn of events is because Danny doesn't do the beach or the ocean. Still they all knew that there was little he could deny Grace when she asked him to do something with her.

Actually not only was Danny at the beach, but he was currently in the water with Grace. He was chasing her through the water, grabbing her, picking her up and then dropping her back in the water, much to her delight and to his, because if Grace was giggling that meant she was happy, if she was happy then so was he.

The scene was idyllic and was causing quite a few women to sit up and take notice as the buff blonde detective played in the ocean with his little girl. There were many aw's and ah's being exchanged. Who wouldn't love a guy who, clearly on his own, was interacting on such a level with his daughter? But Danny had eyes for only one female on the beach that day and that was Grace.

"Danno!" squealed Grace as he once again grabbed her round the waist.

"Yes Monkey?" he asked in his most innocent voice.

"Stop it!" she giggled; clearly only pretending to protest the treatment.

"You want me to stop?"

"Yes!"

"To put you down?"

"Yes!"

"OK then, but remember you asked," and he unceremoniously dropped her back into the water.

She came back up flipping one of her braids out of the way and wiping the water from her face. Standing back up in front of her Dad she put her hands on her hips and in a voice that was scarily like her mother's told him off with a big grin, "Now you know perfectly well that is not what I meant! Honestly I don't know what I'm going to do with you!" she sounded older than her years, which made Danny shudder slightly.

"Huh, really? 'Cos you asked me to put you down," he mirrored her stance and grin.

"Put me down Danno, not drop me!"

"Oh. So you maybe wanna try that again and see if I can get it right?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No!"

"You sure?" he took a step towards her and she took several steps away from him.

"Positive."

"Well, if you're sure," he pretended to shrug and turn away.

Grace wasn't fooled for a second and waded into shallower water and started running as he came after her. She was giggling so hard that she couldn't run properly and Danny was having the same trouble. In order to bring the game to a temporary end so he could catch his breath Danny pretended to stumble and fell face first into the water.

Lifting his head up he called out to his daughter, "Alright, alright, you win!"

Grace collapsed down beside him sitting in the shallow surf and leaned into him, "Thanks for bringing me here Danno, its great!"

"Yeah Monkey, it is. Of course anywhere you are is great!" he placed a kiss on his daughter's wet head and hugged her to him.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of engines entering the peaceful beach setting. When Danny looked up he saw a group of what appeared to be teenagers on jet skis, there must have been nearly a dozen of them. He was about to dismiss them when he noticed two of them were racing with no consideration for the fact they were too close to shore where people were body boarding and swimming.

The lifeguards on the beach were clearly worried as they started to move towards the ocean and he heard someone use a radio to call for a boat to assist with clearing the jet skiers out of the area. Danny knew this was going to end badly; he felt it in his gut but hoped he was wrong.

People on the beach watched in horror as the two racing jet skiers nearly collided, they both swerved at the last minute which dumped both the riders into the ocean. Unfortunately they had been going at such speed that even though the engines cut out on both skis they didn't stop and with nobody to steer them they headed towards the swimmers. Danny wanted to look away but couldn't, though he made sure he pulled Grace to him and buried her face against his chest as the skis ploughed into the innocent bystanders.

Seconds later the six lifeguards were in the water as members of the public swam for shore, some grabbing on to screaming children. It looked to Danny like there were dozens potentially in need of help and only six lifeguards. He looked down at Grace before looking back out to the chaos in the ocean.

"Go Danno!" Grace told him, giving him a little shove.

"I can't leave you here by yourself Grace!"

"I'll be OK," she said bravely. Her Danno could help and he'd always told her if you could then you should, "I can sit on the beach," she waved a hand back to where they'd put their things, "You can help!" she insisted.

A woman standing nearby with her family overheard, "I'll keep an eye on her for you," she offered, "My husband has gone to see if he can help too." Danny eyed her warily. Leaving his daughter with some stranger was not ideal. Grabbing up her purse the woman pulled out some identification and handed him her ID. Shauna Vitelli, LAPD, "I'd be out there helping but I think I'd be more of a hindrance," she gave a rueful smile as she indicated her protruding belly; she was clearly around six months pregnant.

"OK, Grace, you stay with Mrs Vitelli. Danno loves you," he planted a kiss on her head and wasted no further time running back into the water.

Although Danny didn't like to swim, and he had his reasons, he could swim very well. Once he was deep enough he dived under the water his strong arms and legs propelling him smoothly through the ocean, muscles rippling. If Steve could see him now he would be extremely impressed and would certainly never doubt Danny's ability to swim again.

When he reached the area where the jet skis had come to rest he came to a stop and assessed the situation; he spotted a lifeguard swimming towards a boat that had appeared. Ordinarily lifeguards didn't like it when civilians got involved but under these circumstances they were overwhelmed and needed any help that they could get.

Now he knew where he needed to take anyone he helped he found the person nearest to him, who just happened to be a woman clinging to her son, desperately trying to tread water while keeping him afloat.

"Ma'am?"

"Oh god, my son was hit by his body board as we tried to get out of the way. He was knocked unconscious, I can't wake him," she was obviously in shock otherwise Danny was sure she would have swam over to the boat herself.

"If I take him can you swim to that boat over there?" he pointed out the lifeguard scarab which had been joined by a coastguard vessel.

"Yes."

Danny took the boy and rested his arm across his chest and started to tow him to the boats, the mother swimming close to him. When he reached the boat the young boy was carefully taken from him, after helping the mother aboard Danny turned and swam back out to help someone else. As he neared one of the jet skis he noticed someone clinging to it with one hand and headed in their direction.

"Hey!" he called. The person lifted their head and looked at him, eyes glazed with pain. Danny was sure he was one of the jet skiers. Morons hadn't been wearing life vests, just to add to their list of idiocy.

"I think I've broken my arm."

Part of Danny wanted to tell the teenager that it served him right but he knew that wouldn't help anybody, "Alright, let go, I've got you."

Without question the teenager released his hold on the jet ski and allowed Danny's arm to encircle him. He rested his head back against his rescuer and allowed himself to be towed. Handing him over at the boat he told the lifeguard his suspicions before going back out. There must have been a dozen people in the water helping with the rescue but he could still see people in need of help. After another four trips with people in need of various degrees of medical treatment he took a breath, starting to feel tired, scanning the ocean he looked for anyone else that needed help. Spotting a man who was struggling to keep his head above water the detective ducked under the water and with strong strokes was by his side in a matter of seconds. When the man saw Danny he instinctively grabbed hold of him dragging them both under.

When they resurfaced Danny spluttered and coughed up some water then tried to calm the man down, "Hey, I'm here to help, you need to stop struggling!" The words had no affect and the man carried on panicking and fighting, managing to elbow Danny in the face. Biting back a curse, he tried again, "Stop it! I can't help you if you fight me!"

The words fell on deaf ears as the struggling continued and the man once again dragged them both underwater. Danny was tired, he'd done more swimming in the last short while than he'd done in a long, long time and despite the fact that he kept his fitness level up with other exercise it wasn't the same. His cheek was throbbing from the elbow that struck it and if he wasn't careful he'd become a victim. The last thing he wanted was for one of the lifeguards he was trying to help to have to rescue him!

Getting them back up to the surface once more the man was still flailing his arms and once again caught Danny with his elbow, this time in his abdomen, causing him to gasp and swallow some more water. He was ready to take desperate measures as the man pulled them under for the third time. Danny was having problems getting them back up to the surface; the guy was bigger than him and fighting for his life, which made him a hell of a lot stronger than perhaps he would normally have been. It probably seemed to him, in his panicked mind, that Danny was there to hurt him, not help him.

There was no other choice, Danny was getting too tired to fight and was rapidly running out of air so he did the only thing that he felt he could under the circumstances to save both their lives; he punched the guy. The momentary shock of being struck stopped him from struggling and Danny was finally able to get them both to the surface and securely grab him round his chest, taking a deep breath he then set off back towards the boats.

"I had to punch him, he was fighting me," Danny explained the bloody nose to the lifeguard who looked at him as he hung on to the side of the boat coughing up sea water.

"Looks like he got you too," he pointed at Danny's cheek.

"Yeah, elbowed me," Danny shrugged.

"Come on, get in. You've done enough and we're heading back in with this lot," he indicated the boat full of people behind him.

"My daughter's waiting for me on the beach."

"Dude, you are too tired to swim back, we'll get you back to your daughter. Come on," the lifeguard leaned over and helped him into the boat.

"Thanks," Danny collapsed into the boat still coughing.

"Jason Ioane and you are?" curious about this civilian who had rescued seven people.

"Danny Williams."

"Are you a lifeguard somewhere else?" that would certainly explain the ease with which he'd seen Danny move through the water.

"No, nothing like that. I'm a detective. I'm on the Governor's taskforce."

"Well thanks for the assist Detective Williams," he held out his hand.

"Danny and you are welcome Mr Ioane."

"Jason."

The two men sat side by side as the scarab returned to shore, Danny still catching his breath after the coughing died down. They assisted the other passengers off the boat before leaving themselves. Jason walked over to a man that was standing on the dock.

"Hey Sean, this is Detective Danny Williams, he helped us with the rescue. Danny, this is my boss, Sean Monroe."

"Nice to meet you Danny, thanks for your help," he held out a hand which the other man took.

"Sean, no problem but I do need to get back to the beach, my daughter's waiting for me."

"You should get checked out first," Jason told him.

"I'm fine," insisted Danny.

"You were coughing up water!"

"Is that true?" Sean asked. He didn't want to let someone walk away if they were in need of medical attention.

"I swallowed a little water but I'm fine, honestly. Look a friend of mine's a doctor, I'll ask her to give me the once over when I've got my daughter and get home."

"I'll need you to sign some paperwork," advised Sean. It really was necessary to cover them in case something happened later on.

"Lead the way," Danny didn't argue, the sooner this was done the sooner he could get back to Grace. Fifteen minutes later he'd provided his statement and signed the form that he'd been given stating he had refused medical attention.

"Sean, can I take one of the trucks to get Danny back to his daughter?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Come straight back though, I'll need your help with this," he waved his hand in the direction of the offices which were filled with people needing to give statements, "Thanks again Danny. I hope to see you at Waimanalo again but next time without the need to join in a rescue!"

"This is the first time I've been here but my daughter loves it so I'm sure she'll persuade me to come back again," Danny smiled as he shook Sean's hand again then followed Jason out to one of the trucks.

The two men made the journey in a comfortable silence, they'd both been involved in the rescue and it had been a lot to take in. Danny scanned the beach for his daughter as they pulled onto the section where they'd been, "There she is." Jason stopped the truck and got out with Danny, "Grace!"

The little girl twirled around, braids flying, the moment she spotted him she was running towards him, "Danno!"

He caught her as she flew into his arms, smothering her with kisses, "Hey Monkey."

"Are you OK?" she caught the slight darkening of the area on his right cheek and eye.

"I'm fine Gracie," he turned around, "This is Jason, he's a lifeguard and was helping with the rescue. Jason, this is my daughter Grace."

Jason's eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, "Hi Grace. Your Dad wanted to get back to you as quickly as he could so I thought I'd bring him to you."

Grace smiled shyly back at him. Uncle Steve was tall, but this man was even taller, "Nice to meet you," she said politely, just as she'd always been taught, "Thanks for bringing Daddy back."

"My pleasure. Listen next time you come to Waimanalo why don't you drop by headquarters and I'll give you the tour," offered Jason, "I can introduce you to some of our Junior lifeguards, you're not quite old enough to join but I'm sure you'd like to see what they get up to."

"Can we Danno?"

"Of course we can Monkey," Danny smiled down at his daughter, "Thanks Jason, that's a nice offer."

"No problem," he leaned back into the truck and pulled out a card with his details, "Give me a call when you're next heading out here and I'll make sure I'm here."

"Will do, thanks again. Grace let's grab our things and head home, I think we've had enough excitement for one day," he started to turn round to leave.

"Oh and Danny, don't forget you said you'd let that doctor friend of yours give you the once over!" he grinned as Danny shot him a dirty look.

"Danno?" Grace asked curiously.

"It's nothing Grace."

"Your Dad swallowed a little water and he promised my boss that he'd get a doctor friend to check him over when he got home," he ignored the death glares he was receiving. He knew Danny's type, hell he was the same himself, he also knew that his daughter would make sure, somehow, that he did what he said he would.

"I'll make sure he does. Can we go to Uncle Steve's for a little while, I haven't seen him in ages and I could play on his beach for a little while, please? We can call Auntie Malia from there!" In that one sentence his daughter had gone from being the adult of the two back to being a kid who wanted to go and play on her Uncle's beach.

Sighing in defeat Danny agreed, "Yes, we can go and see Uncle Steve, just no telling tales about this," he waved his hand in the general direction of the ocean. The pair said goodbye to Jason, Danny thanked Shauna Vitelli, gathered their things and got into the Camaro and drove to Steve's.

-5-0-

"He might not even be home," Danny warned Grace as they were approaching Steve's house.

"Well we can find out," she pointed out reasonably. As they pulled into the driveway Grace squealed, "He's home!"

"Just because his truck is here doesn't mean he is!" resigned to spending the afternoon with Super SEAL, because really the likelihood of him _not_ being in was slim, he climbed out of the car and pulled the seat forward to allow his daughter out. He hadn't even got the door closed before Grace was knocking on the door and then opening it, just as her Dad did whenever he stopped by, yelling, "Uncle Steve!"

Once he locked the car up and started toward the house he heard Steve's voice greet his daughter, "Hey Gracie!"

Entering the house he found the pair standing on the back decking. The SEAL had obviously been enjoying a peaceful day that they had now disturbed.

"You're covered in sand, where have you been?" Steve asked Grace as he settled her on his hip and turned to greet his brother, "Hey Danny."

"We've been to Waimanalo Beach! It was great; we played in the ocean until these people on jet skis…"

"Hey Steve," Danny interrupted the flow before Grace could get going and drop him in it; he made sure he kept his distance so that Steve was less likely to pick up on the bruise forming on his cheekbone and under his eye, "Grace wanted to stop by and say hello. Sorry, we've disturbed you; we'll leave you in peace."

"Don't be silly Danny. You're both welcome here anytime, you know that," Steve admonished wondering why his partner was looking both exhausted and shifty at the same time.

"Thanks," he mumbled in reply, "I'm just gonna grab a drink. Grace, behave yourself," he eyed his daughter.

"Yes Danno," she replied giving him her best innocent smile. Somehow he wasn't quite convinced.

Danny grabbed a couple of bottles of water and one of juice from the fridge before going back out to the decking where Grace had Steve's undivided attention. Danny's heart sunk when he caught what she was saying.

"… so I stayed with Mrs Vitelli why Danny went out to help with the rescue. He was awesome. Then he got to ride in a truck with one of the lifeguards, Jason, who invited us back another time so he could show me round headquarters."

"Wow, that's quite an eventful morning you had!" Steve chuckled at Grace's exuberance as she told the story.

"Grace…" Danny's tone held a gentle warning.

"Oh that reminds me Danno," Grace smiled innocently, totally ignoring her father's warning. She knew she was perfectly safe, not just because she knew Danno loved her, but she was sitting on her Uncle Steve's knee, "You need to call Auntie Malia, you did promise Jason that you'd ask her to… Now what did he say?" she pretended to look thoughtful as Steve raised an eyebrow at Danny, "That's right, you'd ask her to give you the once over. That's right isn't it Danno?"

"Danny?" Steve asked, his face taking on a mixture of his aneurism and constipation expressions.

"Grace," the detective cursed his daughter, "You said you wouldn't tell any tales!"

"I never promised!" Grace replied cheekily.

"You are so like your mother," he mumbled quietly to himself.

"Danny?" Steve asked again, "What is Grace talking about?" there was a warning in his voice. He wasn't going to be fobbed off.

"I swallowed a bit of sea water and Jason thought I should get checked out, but I feel fine and just wanted to head back."

"Well he's right, you should get checked out but Malia and Chin are away for the weekend," Steve picked up his cell.

"Who are you calling?"

"I'm going to ask Kono to come and watch Grace while I take you to Queens."

"I don't need to go to the hospital Steven!"

"Yes, you do," he stepped closer finally getting a good look at Danny, "Nice bruise. How'd you get it?"

"One of the victims panicked and elbowed me by mistake," Danny shrugged as he replied as Steve dialled Kono, "Look, I'll go to the hospital but I can drive myself, you can watch Grace."

"Not going to happen," responded Steve as the call was answered, "Hey Kono, would you be able to come and watch Grace at mine for a while please... That's great, thanks," he hung up, "Kono will be here in twenty minutes. You might as well sit down while you wait."

Danny flopped into one of the chairs on the deck then placed the bottles of water on the table before handing the bottle of juice to Grace, "Here you go Monkey."

"Thanks Danno," there wasn't an ounce of remorse in her voice. She knew Uncle Steve would make sure he followed Jason's orders.

A little while later Steve and Danny were heading to Queens after giving a short explanation to Kono. What they did tell her left her a little speechless and that was with Danny glossing over most of the details. The journey to the hospital was quiet but not uncomfortable. Danny was tired and Steve was contemplating how he was going to find out the details of this rescue. He knew Danny was underplaying his role. The answer came as he got out of the Camaro in the parking lot, as Danny closed his door a business card fluttered down from the dash. Steve picked it up intending to just put it back when he noticed the name and the logo, when he realised it was from the lifeguard Grace had told him about he pocketed it and determined to call him to find out the details.

-5-0-

"I'm going to call Kono and let her know we're gonna be a while," Steve told Danny. The ER waiting room was full to bursting.

"I can come back later, perhaps when it's quieter."

"No, you're booked in and you're waiting! I mean it Danny."

"Fine," he watched the SEAL exit the ER and leaned his head back against the wall.

"Danny?" Looking up he found Henry standing in the entrance to the waiting room, "Are you waiting to be seen?"

"Hey Henry, yeah."

"Come on, I'll take a look at you, I've just finished my shift."

"That's OK, I'll wait," he told the doctor as he felt everyone else in the waiting room glare at him.

"As your doctor I insist. Now please."

Danny threw the other people waiting an apologetic glance as he followed Doctor Jensen, stopping at reception to pick up the necessary paperwork he then led Danny back to a cubicle just as Steve returned and joined them.

"Is Kono OK staying with Grace? I can come back…"

"No you can't," both Henry and Steve told him simultaneously.

"Kono and Grace are fine. They're building sandcastles."

"Danny, you may feel fine but swallowing water like that can damage your lungs. Now please let me examine you."

Throwing up his hands in defeat Danny caved and allowed himself to be poked and prodded. An hour later he had his t-shirt back on and was being allowed to leave.

"Alright Danny, you're O2 levels are good and your lungs are clear," Henry told him, "But symptoms of secondary drowning can occur up to seventy two hours after the initial incident. If you experience severe coughing, trouble breathing or pain in your chest or lungs then you need to come straight back here. Understand?"

"Yeah. Thanks Henry," he shook the doctor's hand and then followed Steve back to the car.

-5-0-

"Danno!" Grace called as she saw her Dad step out onto the decking. She hurried to give him a hug, "Are you alright?"

"Yes Monkey, Doctor Jensen saw me and says I'm fine. Everything is working as it should. Have you been good for Kono?"

"Uh huh. We've been building sandcastles, see?" she pointed to the beach.

"Wow, you've been busy!" Danny smiled as he saw several sandcastles of varying sizes lined up on Steve's beach.

"I made some lunch when Steve called and said you were going to be awhile. Hope that's OK?" the question was to both men.

"Thanks," Danny replied.

"That's fine Kono."

"I left a couple of sandwiches in the fridge for you two as well," she smiled before responding to Grace's demands to join her back on the beach.

"Sit down Danny, I'll grab the sandwiches and drinks," Steve told him. Part of him was surprised when he did as he'd been told; the other part wasn't since he could see the events of the day catching up.

Once Danny had eaten he turned to Steve, "Can I grab a shower?"

"Sure. Have you got some clean clothes in the Camaro?"

"Yeah, but I also have some sweats that I left here, I'll just change into those."

"You know where everything is," Steve wanted to follow, to keep an eye on him, but fought off the urge and just watched as Danny went inside. It took half an hour before Steve finally gave in and entered the house looking for him. He couldn't hear the sound of water running as he walked through the house. A little concerned he took the stairs two at a time, the bathroom door stood open but the door to the guest room was closed. Steve gently tapped on it, when he got no response he opened the door and smiled at the sight before him. Danny had obviously intended to sit down on the bed to put his sweat pants on but instead had ended up falling asleep. The SEAL slipped quietly into the room and lifted up Danny's legs so they were on the bed then grabbed a blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over him before leaving him to sleep for a bit.

-5-0-

Steve checked his watch. Danny had been asleep for a few hours now and it was going to be time to get some food shortly, though he figured they'd just order take out, then he'd drop Danny and Grace back at their apartment.

Looking over at Grace he grinned at her tongue sticking out at she tried to keep in the lines of the picture she was colouring in. Kono was sitting on her other side, having accepted Steve's offer to stay for dinner, and was helping her. Grace had showered and changed earlier into clothes that Danny had in a bag in the trunk of the Camaro.

"Grace," he spoke to his niece.

"Yes Uncle Steve," she stopped what she was doing to look up at him.

"Why don't you go and wake Danny and we'll decide what to order for dinner."

"OK," she shuffled her chair back with Kono's help and ran inside.

Grace ran up the stairs to the guestroom and pushed the door open. Her Dad was sprawled out and snoring which made his daughter giggle.

"Danno," she called while gently shaking him, not wanting to startle him.

"Huh," Danny coughed and groaned as he opened his eyes.

"Uncle Steve said it's time to wake up. We're going to order take out."

"'K," he looked at his daughter through sleep blurred eyes. Sitting up slowly he realised several things at once, he ached all over, his chest was tight and he had developed a slight cough, "Eugh. I'll be down in a minute Gracie," he gave her a smile and watched as she left the room. Doctor Jensen had told him if he experienced severe coughing he should go back in, well it wasn't severe, just annoying. The tightness in his chest was likely caused by the general ache that existed in every single muscle.

Danny pulled on his sweat pants, got to his feet and headed across to the bathroom, freshened up and then went downstairs.

"Hey sleeping beauty, how are you feeling?" Kono asked with a grin.

"Shuddup!" he grouched at her with a good natured gentle shove at the sleeping beauty comment, "I'm OK, still a little tired and I ache all over. I think I used muscles today I had forgotten existed!"

They ordered dinner, the usual pizza for each of them. Danny told them a little more about the jet ski incident without going into too much detail about how long he'd been out there and what he'd actually done, his words were interrupted by the occasional cough. Steve kept quiet for now about the rescue, he'd spoken to Jason and knew exactly what his partner had done and just how much he was down playing his role and simply raised his eyebrows at the coughing.

Danny caught the look his brother was throwing him, "Its fine, Henry said severe coughing. Can I ask a favour though?"

"You can ask," Steve grinned, winking at Grace and Kono.

"Would you mind if we stayed here tonight? I'm too tired to go anywhere."

Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" he asked, after all Danny had fought him tooth and nail to get back to his own place.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Yes, Super SEAL, I'm fine, just really tired. If it's a problem…"

"Of course it's not a problem Danno!"

"Thanks."

"Can we spend the day with Uncle Steve again tomorrow? Please?"

"As long as that's alright with Uncle Steve," Danny agreed.

"I'd like that Grace," he smiled and kissed his niece on the top of her head as he cleared the leftovers away.

"Auntie Kono, will you come over again tomorrow, please, perhaps give me another surfing lesson?"

"I can do that," Kono agreed, much to the nine year olds delight.

The group left the table and went into the living room and Grace picked a movie to watch. She chose Dolphin Tale; ever since Steve had paid for a weekend at a hotel for her and Danno where she could swim with dolphins back when they'd first met she had loved dolphins so the movie was perfect for her.

The movie hadn't been on more than twenty minutes when Danny fell asleep and about another twenty minutes after that he started snoring. Steve and Kono exchanged glances and smirked.

"Danno!" Grace shook her father, "Danno!"

"Huh?" he opened one eye to look at his daughter.

"Go to bed!"

"Nah, 'm fine."

"Danno, go to bed!" she said more firmly.

"Just who is the parent here?" he asked her with a slight grin.

"Go on Danny, you're obviously exhausted," Kono pressed.

"I'll make sure Grace goes to bed after the movie," Steve chimed in.

"Ganging up on me huh? Alright, you three win, I'll go to bed," he got up from the couch and bit back a groan. Bending back down, he planted a kiss on Grace's forehead, "Night Monkey. Danno loves you."

"Night Danno, love you too."

"Night guys," he said to Steve and Kono before heading slowly up the stairs.

"Night!" they called back and then turned their attention back to the movie.

When Dolphin Tale ended Steve decided that since he was looking after Grace that she could stay up and watch another movie. It was a Saturday night and she didn't have to be up early the next morning. Kono grinned at the indulgence but went and organised some drinks and popcorn then they settled down to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.

-5-0-

Danny hauled his aching body up the stairs and entered the bathroom to clean his teeth then entered the guestroom and dropped on to the bed just as he was as he started coughing again. Using the pillow he muffled the sounds not wanting Steve to overreact. Once it passed he lay down with his hand resting on his tight chest and forcing himself to take deep breaths even if it did hurt a little.

Damn he was so tired but every time he drifted off he started to cough now. Sighing he rested some pillows up against the headboard and sat up. The change in position seemed to help and he managed to doze off for a bit.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he was woken by a distinct feeling that he couldn't breathe very well. At first he thought he'd been dreaming but as he became more aware he realised that his chest was tighter than ever and he really was struggling to breathe.

'_Alright Danny, calm down. Breathe in; breathe out; breathe in; breathe out,'_ he tried to follow his own instructions but it didn't seem to be helping. He was just thinking that it was time to get Steve when he heard light footsteps coming down the hall, they stopped at his door and it pushed open to reveal his daughter.

"Danno…" she started to speak to him but there was something about him that wasn't right.

"Grace… Get… Steve," he managed in between breaths.

Turning round Grace ran to the top of the stairs and yelled, "Uncle Steve!"

Kono had been helping Steve clear up before leaving and at Grace's yell the two ran out of the kitchen.

"Grace?" Steve asked as he took the stairs at a run.

"Something's wrong with Danno!"

Kono grabbed hold of Grace to stop her following Steve as he continued on to the guestroom. He didn't slow down until he was next to Danny.

"Can't… breathe… properly," Danny looked at his brother, eyes wide.

"Hospital!" Steve stated getting Danny to his feet and supporting him out of the room. They didn't have time to wait for an ambulance; he could get Danny to Queens in the time it would take for one to arrive.

Grace was crying in Kono's arms as the two men walked passed, "Grace… don't be… scared," Danny's heart broke at the sight of his daughter, "Danno… loves… you."

"I love you too Daddy," she replied.

"We'll meet you at the hospital," Kono told Steve. She didn't think it was a good idea for Grace to travel to Queens with the two men when her father was experiencing breathing difficulties; it would just upset her more.

Steve grabbed the keys for the Camaro off the side and left Kono to lock up the house, not really caring at the moment about the alarm. He helped Danny into the car and ran round to the driver's side. He pulled out of the drive turning on the lights and siren.

"How long have you been having trouble breathing Danny?"

"Not long," Danny purposely kept his answers short as the mantra of breathe in; breathe out; ran through his head, "Hour maybe… just coming… to get… you."

"When Grace came in to the room, you were going to come and ask me to bring you to the hospital?" Steve clarified, filling in the gaps that Danny just didn't have the breath to.

"Yeah."

Steve drove the rest of the way to Queens in silence, listening to Danny's laboured breathing. For once Danny was glad that the SEAL was a bit of a speed demon, as far as he was concerned the quicker they reached the hospital the better. Reaching Queens in record time, even for Steve, he threw the car into a space next to the ER doors not caring that he was illegally parked. Helping Danny out of the car and into the ER he approached reception.

"Is Doctor Jensen on duty?" he knew they'd only seen him that afternoon but he hoped perhaps he was on call.

The receptionist looked up at the strident voice and was about to admonish the man when she saw the problem and called one of the nurses over. Quickly assessing the situation she grabbed a wheelchair and Steve lowered Danny into it.

"Doctor Jensen saw him earlier…"

"I'll check if he's in the hospital," the receptionist assured him as he followed the nurse back to the trauma rooms.

The members of 5-0 were known to nearly all the medical staff in the ER now, there were very few exceptions. This nurse had treated Chin and Kono for minor injuries so had met Danny and Steve as they hovered so she didn't even try to tell the Commander that he couldn't come with her.

They helped Danny into a gown and were just getting him settled on the bed when Doctor Jensen appeared looking slightly dishevelled.

"I'm the attending on call," by way of an explanation as to why he wasn't already in the ER, "How long has he been like this?" he addressed the question to Steve as the nurse placed an oxygen mask over Danny's face.

"Not really sure, I think just over an hour. He had started coughing earlier but it wasn't bad enough to worry us."

"The main thing is you're here now," Henry tried to reassure both his patient and Steve, "Joan," he turned to the resident that had been on duty in the ER as she inserted an IV into the back of Danny's right hand, "I want arterial blood gases, put in an arterial catheter as we'll need it more than once, CBC and chest x-rays."

Joan nodded and delegated getting the CBC and chest x-rays organised while she grabbed what she needed to do the arterial draw. She placed Danny's left arm on a short board with his inner wrist facing up and placed tape over his palm underneath his fingers and across his wrist just under his thumb.

"I'm just going inject a local anaesthetic, you'll feel a sharp sting," she warned him.

Steve took hold of Danny's right hand, mindful of the IV needle and squeezed it reassuringly. Danny squeezed back and clenched his eyes shut as he felt the sting. Relaxing as the feeling wore off quickly.

She pushed on his radial artery to locate the place where she was going to insert the catheter before wiping his inner wrist with an alcohol wipe. Then she used a small needle to inject lidocaine just under Danny's skin to create a raised area over the insertion site. She then cleansed his wrist with sterile solution and draped his arm and hand so that only his wrist was visible. Joan inserted the needle into the artery until she saw blood then holding the needle steady she pushed the catheter forward, once satisfied that the catheter was in place she withdrew the needle. She connected a syringe and collected the blood required before closing the cap over the end. Finally she stitched the catheter in place and put a clear adhesive dressing over it to ensure it stayed put.

"All done now Danny," she spoke quietly to her patient, resting her hand on his shoulder. She then ushered Steve out of the way so that the chest x-rays could be taken, allowing him back in once they'd been done.

Steve stayed with Danny, talking to him to try and keep him calm as his breathing just got worse and he kept coughing. He looked anxiously round at the medical staff hurrying in and out of the room.

"Alright, the x-rays show fluid in your lungs Danny. The arterial blood gas results have come back and I'm worried about the results, they indicate that you're suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or ARDS for short."

Danny gave him a look that clearly said 'no shit Sherlock'. He didn't need a doctor to tell him he was in respiratory distress, no, what he needed was for him to _fix _it!

"What's the treatment for it?" Steve asked, his hand resting on Danny's arm.

Henry sighed and ran a hand over his hair knowing that his patient wasn't going to like the answer, "Danny we need to sedate you and place you on a ventilator so that we can manage the O2 that you're being given closely."

Danny's eyes widened and he shook his head, "No!"

"You have pulmonary edema. Let me explain what that means. You have alveoli in your lungs, which are tiny air sacs. Oxygen from the air is picked up by the blood passing by and carbon dioxide in the blood is passed into the alveoli to be exhaled out. In your case the integrity of the alveoli has been compromised by the resulting irritation and inflammation caused when you inhaled water, which means the air exchange isn't happening effectively. If we don't put you on a ventilator while we resolve the inflammation, as well as treat any possible infection that may have been picked up from the water, then you will die," Henry had to be blunt, they didn't have time for messing around or the softly, softly approach.

"Die?" asked Danny.

"Yes. We'll move you up to ICU, sedate you and place you on a ventilator; you won't even know it's happening. We'll use PEEP, or positive end-expiratory pressure which will increase the volume of gas remaining in your lungs and that will improve the gas exchange I mentioned."

"Want to see Grace first."

"I'll have one of the nurses get her," agreed Henry. He then turned to get a bed in ICU organised before Danny's condition deteriorated any further. It was lucky that he had come in so promptly.

The door to the room opened and Grace stepped through with Kono holding her hand. They walked quietly over to the bed, Grace's normal exuberance missing.

"Danno?"

"Hey Monkey," his voice muffled by the oxygen mask he was wearing and strained by the effort to breathe and talk.

Steve lifted her up to sit on the bed at Danny's right side making sure that his left arm was covered as he thought that seeing her Dad's arm strapped down might frighten her. Steve didn't let go of Grace and he felt Kono stand close beside him also wanting to know what was happening, though she could sense it was serious.

"Grace… I have to… go to… sleep for… a while," he wanted so desperately to explain this to his daughter so that she wouldn't be scared, but how could he when he was terrified?

"For how long?" there was a tremble in Grace's voice that was like a knife to Danny's heart.

"Until I can… breathe better."

"Why?"

Danny looked to his brother for help. He didn't have the energy or the breath to explain this no matter how much he wanted to. It was unfair to ask this of Steve but Grace trusted him and so did Danny.

"Grace," Steve understood the pleading look Danny sent his way, "Danno has some problems with his breathing right now. Doctor Jensen can treat it but in order to do that he needs to make Danno go to sleep. He's going to need to be helped by a machine to breathe until his lungs work properly."

"I'm scared!" she sobbed.

"I know… baby," Danny lifted his hand and rested it on her head, "I'll be… OK… Remember… Danno… loves you."

"I love you too Danno."

Danny removes the mask briefly and signals Grace to lean forward, he plants a kiss on her forehead, his hand holding the back of her head and stroking her hair reassuringly. Kono and Steve exchange glances both horrified and grateful to be witness to this scene between father and daughter.

"Go with… Kono now."

Grace nods and kisses her father on his cheek before he puts the mask back on. Steve helps her off the bed while Kono moves around him and plants a kiss of her own on Danny's temple, "Stay strong brah."

Danny gives her a weak smile, "Will do."

Once Kono and Grace have left the room Henry returns, "We're going to take you up to ICU now."

"Can Steve… come… with me?"

Looking into the understandably anxious eyes of his patient Henry immediately agrees, "Yes, he can." The doctor will agree to anything to make this easier on his patient. Ordinarily someone being put on a ventilator is unconscious already so is unaware that it will happen, this is much harder and Steve's presence has always had a calming effect on Danny.

The medical team move the bed from the trauma room and they go up in the elevator to ICU.

Once there they are greeted by the familiar face of Akela, "Hi Danny."

"Hey."

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of you," he rested a hand on his shoulder before assisting him into the ICU bed and hooking him up to a heart monitor, a pulse ox and BP cuff. As soon as he has the baseline results he requires he also draws more blood from the arterial catheter for further blood gases which are immediately sent to the lab, it will help them determine the settings for the ventilator.

"Danny, we're going to hang a bag of saline and some antibiotics. We'll then administer a low dosage of corticosteroid to help with the inflammation. I'll let you know before I introduce the sedative."

"How long is he likely to be on the ventilator for?" Steve wanted to know and knew that Danny would want the answer to that question too.

"It could be anywhere from twenty four hours to a week or possibly longer. There is no hard and fast rule. We'll be continually taking blood gases to check your levels Danny and as soon as they're back within acceptable range we'll have you off the ventilator. OK?"

"'K."

"I'll be right back," Henry ushered the other medical staff from the room to give the two men a short time alone. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Look… after… Grace."

"You know I will Danny. Kono called Rachel, she's on her way back from the event she was attending with Stan and will be here soon."

"That's good," Danny paused before speaking again, "Steve… thanks… for… everything."

"Hey, stop talking like this is good bye! It's not. A few days and you'll be back to ranting at me about how I drive your car all the time and how I have control issues."

"You'll… miss that."

"Nah, be nice to get some peace and quiet for a few days!" Steve squeezed Danny's arm just in case the other man didn't realise he was kidding.

Danny heard what was not being said, heard the concern, "You, be… OK?"

"Me? I'll be fine," wasn't it just like Danny to worry about others before himself. Here he was about to be sedated and put on a machine yet still he worried about how Steve would cope.

"Good…"

"OK, I've got the sedative. Danny I'll inject this and you'll be asleep in a couple of minutes."

The patient and his brother both watched as the doctor inserted a needle into the IV port to give him his initial dose, after that it would be added to his IV fluids so that he was kept unconscious.

"See you… soon… brother," Danny smiled and held out his hand.

Steve took it, "Sleep well brother. I'll be here when you wake up."

Danny's eyes closed and he was out. Henry then ushered Steve out of the room so that he could intubate and get Danny set up on the ventilator.

Kono and Grace were sitting in the ICU waiting room as he approached. They both got to their feet at the same time the elevator doors opened and Rachel came out with Stan right behind her.

"Grace!"

"Mom!" she ran to Rachel and was enfolded in her arms as she sobbed.

Kono approached Steve and laid a hand gently on his arm. He looked kind of lost. For the first time since Kono met him it was clear that he didn't know how to handle this situation.

"They're just putting him on the ventilator now," he whispered, "I was with him until he fell asleep."

"That's good Steve. I'm sure he appreciated it. I've left a message for Chin to call me."

"You should have let him have the weekend with Malia."

"Oh yeah, I can just see how well _that _would have gone over when he comes back tomorrow night and finds out we didn't tell him!"

"Yeah, you have a point there."

The two had been speaking quietly in a corner of the waiting room, letting Rachel and Stan have some privacy with Grace. A throat cleared behind Steve and he turned round to find his partner's ex-wife standing there. Stan still over on the other side of the room with Grace.

"What happened, Steve?"

He quickly explained about the incident on the beach that morning. '_Was it only this morning'_ he thought to himself tiredly. Steve made sure that he gave her all the details that Jason had given him when he'd called and ran through what Doctor Jensen had said. Kono stood next to him not yet having heard the full details of Danny's involvement in the rescue.

"Wow!" was Kono's response.

"Always has to be the hero!" was Rachel's.

"No Rachel, the only reason I know the full details is because I spoke to one of the lifeguards. Danny wasn't doing it to be a hero, he was doing it because that's the kind of person he is, if he sees someone in trouble he helps," he glanced pointedly over at Stan.

Getting the hint Rachel had to agree, "I know," she sighed, "It's one of the things that makes him such a good detective, his compassion for others. I'm going to take Grace home now, please call if there's any change."

"I will," Steve nodded.

Grace gave both Kono and Steve a hug before making Steve promise to call her the second Danno woke up.

-5-0-

Sunday morning found both Steve and Kono asleep in Danny's room, they had refused to leave and since they weren't getting in anyone's way Henry wasn't inclined to take on that argument. The door opened quietly to reveal Chin with Malia close behind him.

"I was hoping it was all a mistake," Chin whispered. Malia took his hand in hers and they walked up to the bed together. "I'm sorry that we had to come back, but I needed to be here for…"

"Chin, it's alright. When we spoke to Kono last night and she told us what had happened I wanted to be here as much as you. I'm just sorry that it took us so long to get back here."

"If it hadn't been for Steve's friend we would have been stuck on Lanai until our flight this evening. I just wish we could have been here last night."

"I know, but we're here now and that's what matters," she reminded him.

"Listen to her Chin," Kono stated as she yawned and stretched.

"I take it you've both been here all night?" asked Chin.

"Yeah, I know he's sedated but it didn't seem right leaving him on his own, you know?"

"Well why don't the two of you go and get some food, a shower and some proper rest. Chin and I will stay here with Danny," Malia offered.

"That's OK…"

"Neither of you will be any good to him if you make yourselves ill! Food, shower, rest. Go!"

"Better listen to the Doctor!" Chin told them.

"Alright, but you'll call if there's any change?" Steve asked.

"Of course we will, now go, both of you," Malia chased them both out of the room and then picked up Danny's chart.

"How does it look?"

"Well although his levels are bad it was caught quickly and he received prompt treatment. There's already been improvement over night."

"That's good," Chin sat in the chair next to his friend's bed, "Improvement already Danny, keep it up," he instructed the sedated man.

-5-0-

The Governor had told Steve, when he called him Sunday afternoon, to stay at the hospital and if anything came up he would call to let them know and requested that he be kept updated on Danny's progress.

Everyone had been chased from the room Sunday night and sent home to much protesting. They had all congregated at Steve's not wanting to separate before they had to. All of them returned to their own beds but were back at the hospital bright and early Monday morning.

Steve, Kono, Chin and Malia were all in the room waiting when Doctor Jensen entered. He looked up but wasn't surprised to see them.

"Morning," he greeted before moving over to examine his patient.

"How is he?" Malia asked.

"Doing better," Henry replied and launched into a language that the three 5-0 team members couldn't hope to understand, not even Steve.

"Er, excuse me," interrupted Steve, "For those of us that _didn't_ go to medical school?"

"Ah sorry," the pair had the decency to look a little guilty at entering doctor mode, "Danny's gas exchange levels have improved significantly. We'll be doing another blood gas test late morning. If that comes back with good levels then we'll take him off the ventilator this afternoon and allow him to wake up from the sedative," Henry informed them.

-5-0-

Monday afternoon saw Steve, Kono and Chin sitting in Danny's room. Malia had left as she had to work but had promised to pop in on her breaks to see how things were progressing. Danny's last blood gas test came back within normal range so he had been taken off the ventilator which had been replaced with the much less intrusive nasal cannula. Now they were just waiting for him to wake up.

Steve had made a point of calling Rachel to let her know and she had assured him that she would stop by the hospital with Grace after school. The hope had been that Danny might have been awake by then. There was only another hour left before Grace would arrive and apart from some occasional movements Danny hadn't woken up, still at least when Grace saw him he wouldn't be attached to a machine helping him breathe. The arterial catheter was still in place and another draw had been done a short while ago to ensure that the patient was maintaining his levels. The results had come back a short while ago and although they had dropped slightly they were still within expected parameters, much to everyone's relief.

A movement from the bed didn't cause any reaction from the other three people in the room, so many times the slightest twitch had made them all jump to their feet and they had found it to be nothing, that they expected this to be the same. All of them had their noses buried in files that had been dropped off for them to go over at the Governor's request.

Danny had been aware of slight noises for a while now but hadn't been able to summon the energy to open his eyes. He had used the time to recall what had happened and where he was. It occurred to him that he didn't feel a tube in his throat, although there was evidence that it had been there given the sore throat he had, the fact that it was now absent was a good sign, surely?

Finally able to pry his eyes open he found himself staring at the white tile ceiling of his hospital room. The only noise was his heart monitor and the occasional rustling of paper somewhere not too far away. Turning his head slightly it was to find three members of his ohana sitting in chairs with files in their hands. Not one of them had noticed he was awake and he wasn't inclined to draw their attention to the fact, not sure if he even could since his throat was dry and sore so he just lay there enjoying the fact that he could breathe.

A few minutes later the door quietly opened and Malia entered the room. The first thing she noticed was that Danny was awake; the second was that none of the team had realised. She grinned at the man in the bed and approached without comment. As she neared the bed the other three acknowledged her presence with a distracted hello but didn't look in Danny's direction not wanting to be disappointed again. She kissed Chin's cheek as she passed him and came to a halt by Danny's head.

"How are you feeling Danny?" she asked.

Three heads shot up in surprise when they heard the question immediately followed by three people jumping to their feet and rushing to the bed when they saw their family member was actually awake.

"OK," his voice was gravelly due to his sore throat and the lack of use of his voice. Malia reached over for the glass of water with a straw that had been left specifically for this reason and helped him take a few sips.

Steve pressed the call button to alert the nurse on duty that Danny was finally awake; when she stepped into the room she smiled before turning around and going to page Doctor Jensen.

He arrived just a few minutes later and kicked everyone out while he examined his patient. When he'd finished he allowed them back in at Danny's request so that they could all hear what Henry had to say.

"Good news, lungs sound clear, though we'll do another chest x-ray to be sure. I'll also request one more blood gas and if that comes back with no significant drop I'll order the catheter to be removed from your arm and if the x-ray is clear you'll be moved to a normal room later this afternoon."

Danny had been allowed some more water during his examination so although his voice was still croaky it was a little stronger, "What's the long term prognosis doc?"

"You'll be with us until the end of the week, unless any further issues arise. After that you will need a few days rest at home. You can return to work in two weeks, again as long as everything remains stable, on desk duty only. No exertion! You need to remember that your lungs have suffered some damage and they'll take some time to heal. I'll make arrangements to see you on a weekly basis after you're released. We'll speak to our physical therapists and come up with an exercise plan for you to follow once you're home."

"What are the chances that he'll have problems with asthma or other breathing difficulties because of this?" Steve asked, he'd been doing some research while sitting with Danny so that he was prepared for all eventualities.

"There's a chance of that but in the event that does happen it doesn't have to be the end of the world as there are inhalers and other medications to alleviate the symptoms. Let's not borrow trouble though."

"Can I be involved in the meeting with the physical therapist, if Danny doesn't mind? That way I can help him," the SEAL had experience of how difficult getting back into a routine could be after a serious injury.

"Danny?"

"That's fine," he smiled at Steve. He appreciated the fact that he wanted to help.

"I'll set up an appointment and let you know when it is," Henry advised making a note, "Now I have other patient's to see. I'll come back once you've had the x-rays and I get the results of those and the next blood gas."

"Thanks Henry."

The doctor left the room and the group exhaled in relief at the news so far. They knew the recovery would take some time, but that was OK because they would help, the main thing was that Danny was going to be alright.

-5-0-

Saturday couldn't come quickly enough for Danny. Originally he was supposed to escape on the Friday but there had been a delay in removing the arterial catheter and because of the possibility of problems Henry had wanted to monitor him for an extra day. Danny had to agree to stay with Steve until Monday as well, after that he was free to return to his own apartment. Honestly he didn't mind the stipulation. Once he'd been moved out of ICU the team had resumed work and so he'd spent a lot of time on his own. Malia would stop by on her breaks, Rachel would bring Grace by after school and the team would visit after they finished for the day but he'd been pretty bored.

Rachel had agreed that Grace could spend the day with Danny at Steve's so dropped Grace off at the hospital first thing so she could go home with them. His mood could not be dampened even when Steve walked in with the wheelchair.

Danny enjoyed the freedom of being out in the fresh air. Nothing would ruin this day, not even Super SEAL using his car instead of his own truck. He didn't notice Steve and Grace exchanging conspiratorial looks as they drove back to the beach house.

"Alright Danny, in you go, I'll grab your bag," Steve instructed.

The door was opened by Kono who immediately ushered Danny out onto the back deck and into a chair. Chin and Malia were already there and the five adults and one child spent a pleasant morning relaxing. Unfortunately Danny still experienced some residual problems, such as tiredness, and it was starting to show as the morning wore on.

"Time to go and lay down Danny," Malia ordered.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"I can see you're tired. Go and sleep for an hour or so, you'll feel better," she cajoled.

Sighing Danny had to admit that he was feeling a little worn down still and perhaps a sleep wouldn't hurt, then he could spend the afternoon with his family, "Alright," he got up and headed inside without further argument, settling down in the guestroom. His head hit the pillow and he was out like a light.

Downstairs the rest of the family waited about half an hour before Steve crept upstairs to check on him. Finding him fast asleep he closed the door and went to get started on their lunch plans.

Chin made some calls while Steve, Malia and Kono got busy preparing food with help from Grace. A couple of hours later there was a table on the decking laden with food and several cool boxes with various beverages in. Satisfied that everything was ready Steve decided it was time to wake Danny for lunch.

Steve and Grace both went upstairs and opened the guestroom door, "Danno?" Grace sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched his face.

"Hmm?"

"You've been asleep over two hours. Do you want to get up and have some lunch?" asked Steve.

"Wow, I was more tired than I thought," replied Danny opening his eyes and stretching.

"Lunch?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind freshening up first."

"That's fine. It'll wait," Steve smiled and left the room but Grace stayed behind.

"I'll be down in a few Monkey," Danny told his daughter.

"That's OK Danno, I'll wait for you here."

Shrugging he got out of bed and walked across to the bathroom, fortunately the window looked out over the side of the house so he couldn't see any of what his family had been up to while he slept so soundly. It didn't take long and he was showered and changed into a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt with nothing on his feet. He followed his daughter downstairs and out the back.

It wasn't until he actually stepped outside that he registered all the people that had appeared while he'd been asleep.

"Surprise!" yelled Grace, throwing her arms around her Dad's waist.

"You got that right!" exclaimed Danny, causing everyone to laugh. He turned to Steve, "You!"

"Yup, with a little help," he indicated Chin, Malia and Kono, the SEAL grinned completely unrepentant and enjoying the surprise on his brother's face. Slowly Danny turned to the assembled group of people.

"Wow, er, hi!"

That got another laugh and then people were walking up to him, shaking his hand, planting kisses on his cheek. The group from that morning had been joined by Charlie Fong, Max and Joe White but that hadn't been the biggest surprise. Jason Ioane and Sean Monroe from the Waimanalo lifeguards were there along with the victims he'd rescued and their families. He waved off the thanks, dismissing it as something anyone would do if they could. It didn't matter what Danny said, those families were grateful and his family were proud!

-5-0-

**A/N: Watched Dolphin Tale and yes, I enjoyed it. Never seen Kung Fu Panda 1 or 2!**

**If anyone has read Flushed then you'll know that I've done a secondary drowning story before, however the treatment this time was very different. When I went to refresh my research I found that the treatment mentioned was no longer the same. Times change I guess. I also did extensive research into the whole arterial catheter thing, going as far as to watch one being done on you tube! Now is that dedication or what?**

**A bonus to anyone who can work out the relevance of the names of the lifeguards in this chapter!**


	24. X is for Xenophobia

**DISCLAIMER: No, don't own it.**

**A/N: Once again a heartfelt thank you for reading, reviewing and alerting. Kudos to those who recognised (or took the time to Google) Jason and Sean as characters from Baywatch: Hawaii.**

**I am rather surprised at the length of this one given that when I started out I was struggling and thought I'd be lucky to get a few thousand words. Somehow it took on a life of it's own! There be angst and a little bit of swearing in this chapter! Enjoy.**

**X is for Xenophobia**

It was 8:00 PM on a Wednesday night and it said a lot to Danny Williams about his life that he was still at work. A gang involved in arms dealing had been on 5-0's radar for several weeks but they'd yet to get any definitive information about any deals taking place. That had changed when an informant for one of the detectives called her to tell her about a buy happening that night at an abandoned warehouse.

A call had been made to Steve and nobody went home. Plans needed to be made so the team, along with HPD and SWAT had gathered to view blueprints of the building in question and a map of the area. Part of Danny was proud of his Neanderthal Navy Super SEAL partner; the man was making plans, involving other departments, asking for back up and others opinions. Another part of Danny knew that man plans and God laughs, they could make as many plans as they liked and it could all go to hell, but since he was always yelling at Steve about not waiting for back up he'd go with the proud feeling and then roll with the punches when the time came.

The deal was due to happen at 9:00 PM and they were on their way to the location that they'd been given so they could get in place, hopefully without being seen.

"Why is it always warehouses?" Danny asked suddenly.

"What?" The car had been silent up until that moment and Steve hadn't really been paying attention to his partner, concentrating on driving.

"Why do raids always seem to be at warehouses? I mean can't these people find somewhere more original?"

Steve was puzzled by this conversation but he'd go with it, as he did on so many occasions when it came to his partner, "It's always warehouses because they have the space and normally nobody takes any notice of the comings and goings at industrial sites."  
>"We take notice, as in the police," pointed out Danny.<p>

"Only if we suspect something is going on. We can't watch all of the warehouses on Oahu Danny."

"OK, alright, you may have a point."

"I do? You're agreeing with me?" Steve glanced over at his partner before looking back to the road.

"But… just once it would be nice if the bad guys did their business in a house!" Danny ignored Steve's comment.

"What difference does it make?"

"I'd just like a change from dingy, dusty warehouses, that's all."

"Well this one is different…"

"How? How is this different Steven?"

"It's abandoned," Steve pointed out helpfully.

"Oh yeah, 'cos that is soooo much better!"

"Less likely to get innocent bystanders getting in the way."

"That's true," Danny cocked his head to one side thoughtfully.

"Danno, are you alright?" Steve was a little concerned; this wasn't one of his partner's usual pre-raid rants.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, you know, considering why the criminals do the things they do where they do them," he shrugged dismissively.

"Oookay then," Steve decided not to pursue it any further. The remainder of the journey passed in silence.

They pulled up to the rendezvous point, another warehouse, and pulled inside the cavernous building. HPD had secured use of it so that the vehicles could be hidden from sight, the teams would then go the rest of the way on foot. Due to the area that the warehouse they were targeting was in they would need to be careful that their approach wasn't noticed.

According to the satellite images of the area the lone building sat on a large lot surrounded by asphalt, the strange thing about this one was the fact that it sat in a clearing within a small wooded area. This made Danny wonder if the warehouse had been built specifically for nefarious activities to take place. He was used to the warehouses being down on the docks, not in the middle of a mini forest.

The teams gathered at their rendezvous and once everyone was present Steve called them to him.

"Alright, you all know where you need to be. Once in place each team needs to check in and then we'll maintain radio silence until we enter the building," this was Steve's show and he was leaving nobody in doubt of that, "We only enter on my command. Is that clear?" A chorus of yeah, yes and sir's were heard before he continued, "That said, use your common sense, you know your jobs, trust your instincts and be careful. We move out in five!"

The group split up and the sound of last minute weapons checks rang through the building.

"Nice pep talk."

"So glad you approved Danno," Steve rolled his eyes.

"It's good to see you playing nicely with the other children," responded Danny with a grin.

"You'll keep," growled Steve good naturedly, "You ready?" he turned to their two team mates looking them over to make sure they'd put on their vests.

"Yes boss," Kono finished doing her final checks.

"Good to go," replied Chin, trusty shotgun in hand.

"Alright, let's do this," they broke up and went to their separate teams. It had been agreed that each member of 5-0 would lead a team that would consist of two SWAT and two HPD officers.

Danny greeted the others on his team which consisted of Officers Ani Kale and Kai Kealoha from HPD with Officers Troy Davis and James Wong from SWAT. He had worked with Ani, Kai and Troy before, the only unknown to him was James Wong, but he looked capable and he had to be a damn good cop to get into SWAT.

"Let's move out," Danny stated as he left through the back of the warehouse, crossed the parking lot and stepped through the fence where it had been cut away so they could gain access to the small forest that it backed on to. The other four followed quietly, making their way through the trees until ten minutes later they just caught sight of the lights emanating from the other warehouse. Danny held up his hand to stop the others and signalled for them to stay put. He moved forward slowly, watching for any signs that there were any hostiles in the trees to guard the warehouse they were targeting.

Danny snorted to himself, _'I can't believe I just used the word hostiles in my head, I've been spending too much time round McGarrett!'_

He assessed the best way to get across the open area to the door that they were to use to enter. At the moment their best bet was to make a run for it when the time came, because honestly, there was nowhere to hide. Danny was a bit surprised that there was no guard on the door but perhaps because the location was a little more remote than the norm and was well hidden their dealers weren't worried about discovery. That confidence would be their undoing, well Danny hoped so anyway. Turning back, happy that there were no guards lurking in the trees around where they were to wait for the 'go', he gathered the rest of his team and brought them to the last line of trees to wait.

"Team 1, in place, other teams report," Steve's voice came over the radio.

"Team 2, in place," reported Danny.

"Team 3, in place," that was Chin.

"Team 4, in place," Kono was the last to respond.

"Copy, radio silence until I give the command to breach."

Danny rolled his eyes at the SEAL's words, even if his partner couldn't see him he knew damn well that Steve would be in full Super SEAL mode. He gave his team the once over, making sure they were ready to go, vests in place and weapons ready. Satisfied he turned back to watch the warehouse and wait for Steve's order. Although he couldn't see the front of the building and therefore wouldn't be able to see when the buyers arrived the night was quiet except for the odd noise coming from within the forest as a night creature moved through it which meant he heard the vehicles coming down the rough road that led into the area, knowing the order would come over the radio soon he glanced at his team once more and changed his stance slightly. He didn't have to wait long.

"Go, go, go!" Steve's order came over the radio and they were up and moving.

When he reached the door to the warehouse and turned the handle he was extremely relieved when it opened, they'd known there was a possibility it might be locked and had discussed the idea of someone checking it before the raid started but the chance of discovery was too great so they took a chance. For once Danny's luck was in. Standing to one side of the door he signalled for James to open it, keeping low he ducked inside the building, closely followed by Kai, once they entered without incident the others followed.

The back door entered into a small storage space which was currently empty, the door to the main room stood open and Danny could see rows of rack shelving with various boxes stacked on them, at the front of the warehouse he could just make out a truck which was loaded with crates, which he assumed to be the weapons. Standing around the truck were six men all armed to the teeth, somehow Danny didn't think this would be one of those situations where no shots were fired. His fears were confirmed as gunfire broke out at the front of the building and the six men all ran for cover.

Leading his team through the empty room Danny slid through into the main part of the building unnoticed and signalled for Troy and James to go to the right, while he, Kai and Ani moved down the center. Chin was entering from the left so he knew that side was covered. Kono's team were responsible for corralling anyone that tried to make good their escape so had moved into position outside to cover the vehicles.

Using the shelves for cover the three moved slowly forward, careful not to give away their positions until they had clear sight of the criminals in the building. Finally reaching the end of the shelving Danny pointed to where he wanted Kai and Ani before making his way to where he had a good view of the action.

Steve and his team were currently pinned down at the front of the truck, which they were using for cover. In Danny's opinion it was inadequate and his partner needed some help, which he gladly gave.

"5-0, drop your weapons!" he yelled over the sound of gunfire, none of which was currently coming from any of the teams.

There was a momentary lull in the volley of bullets being fired in Steve's direction, but it was only long enough for the gang members and buyers to divide their attention between the new threat and the original.

"Really Danny?" Steve's voice came through in his ear.

"What? It was worth a try!" Danny responded, shrugging philosophically before returning fire. Troy and James popped up from his right and Chin with his team on his left. It wasn't long before Steve's team were no longer unable to return fire since the criminal element now had to divide their attention four ways.

Thousands of bullets later, Danny could have been exaggerating thinking that, but with Super SEAL present, maybe not so much, they had twelve gang members and three buyers in custody. There had been no injuries to the arresting teams but the bad guys hadn't been so lucky and there were three with gunshot wounds that would need medical attention.

Everyone gathered outside the warehouse while they waited for transport to come and get the prisoners and then the crime scene team would need to be called in. Danny really didn't envy them. As he stood on the out skirts of the group watching he felt that something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.

The detective had learnt over the years not to ignore these instincts so he turned back to the warehouse and re-entered searching the area a final time. He knew they'd cleared the place so he didn't bother telling anyone, besides he didn't want his 'feeling' to be summarily dismissed. Once he had a concrete reason for it then he'd let the team know. Walking through the now quiet building he could tell something was off, that there was something different from when he'd originally entered the place. Unconsciously he placed his hand on his weapon at his hip as he methodically went up and down each aisle created by the shelving. At the start of the fourth row he found what was different, though how he'd sensed it he had no idea, there was a hole in the floor that hadn't been there before.

He approached it cautiously, weapon drawn. Looking into what was clearly a tunnel under the warehouse that had been covered by a hidden trapdoor. Danny swore.

"Steve!" he called into his mic as he moved towards the back of the building, the direction that the tunnel ran. No way was he getting into a tunnel that was only big enough to crawl through, but he'd bet his pay check that whoever had gone down there hadn't hung around and was now somewhere out the back.

"Danny?" Steve replied, surprised to hear his partner's voice over the radio given he'd seen him standing with the group a short time ago. Chin and Kono heard as well and looked around for him.

"There's a damn trapdoor in the floor of the warehouse with a tunnel that leads underneath and out the back, its open…"

"Copy that, on our way," Steve replied all business, "Kono, take Ani and Kai, go into the warehouse, make sure nobody comes out of the tunnel. Chin, with me."

Steve and Chin set off at a run round the side of the building scanning the area constantly looking for anyone who might have escaped.

Once Danny had Steve's attention he moved through the warehouse to the back door at a run. Whoever had exited through the tunnel couldn't have left that long ago. Exiting the back door he scanned the tree lines and saw movement.

"Suspect heading into the trees," he stated into his radio as he followed.

"Right behind you Danny," responded Steve as he came round the corner of the warehouse, seeing his partner just reaching the treeline.

Danny was extremely aware of the dangers of entering the trees to follow a suspect when you didn't even know what weapons they might be carrying, what he hadn't expected was, as he ran into the first line of trees, to be clotheslined by an arm belonging to said suspect.

Whoever the guy was, and it had to be a guy because no woman had arms that hairy, Danny had got an up close and personal look at it after all, had arms that were pure muscle and it struck him in the front just where his neck met his collarbone. Danny lay on the ground gasping for breath like a fish out of water and staring at the man standing above him; ready, no doubt, to finish him off. Danny was unable to move stunned and out of breath as he was.

"Danny!" Steve shouted as he saw his partner go down.

The suspect had just reached into his waistband and pulled a vicious looking knife out when Steve shouted and the man clearly decided that discretion was the better part of valour, he ran into the trees.

Steve and Chin stopped next to their fallen team mate, "Danny?"

"Go… I'm fine!" Danny waved in the direction the man had gone.

"I'm not leaving you," Steve growled, "Chin get everyone out here I want this area searched."

"You're wasting time," stated Danny, finally able to catch a breath.

"No Danny!"

"For fuck sake Steven!" he would have yelled if his throat and chest didn't hurt from the impact of the suspect's arm, "I'm fine!"

Steve totally ignored Danny, "Get the EMTs here."

"I don't need…" he started and tried to sit up only to be cut off and pushed back to the ground.

"Danny you just got hit in the throat, you're being checked out so stay down!"

"He hit me in the chest!"

"I saw it happen, it was your throat!" insisted the SEAL.

"Were you as close to his arm as I was, 'cos if you were I certainly didn't see you!" bit back Danny, "It was my chest!"

"I'm in charge and I say you get checked out, end of story!" Steve pulled out the boss card, probably for the first time since they'd become partners.

That caused Danny to glare at him, if that's the way that McGarrett wanted to play it, then fine, that was the way he could have it, "Yes Sir, Commander McGarrett."

Chin shifted uncomfortably next to the two men, "EMTs are on their way Steve. I'm going to co-ordinate the search," he made a hasty retreat. There had been an undercurrent as Danny spoke that he hadn't liked, something that wasn't normally there that the older man couldn't put a name to, and if he was honest he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Steve stayed by Danny's side until the EMTs arrived and then moved out of their way, going to speak to Chin and Kono about the search for their missing suspect.

"Hey Danny," Andy greeted the detective, "What happened?"

"Got clotheslined!"

"Ouch! OK let's get you checked out. Any pain in your neck, did you hit your head?"

"No and no."

"Any trouble breathing?" asked Jake placing a blood pressure cuff round his patient's arm.

"A little at first," he replied honestly, none of this was the EMTs fault so he'd answer them even if he was angry with his partner, "Just kinda took me by surprise you know."

"I'm sure," Andy nodded, "Can you show me where he caught you?"

Danny indicated the point of impact and continued to placidly allow the EMTs to do their job, answering each of their questions and letting them check his vitals, responses and the area he'd been struck.

"Well Danny, you're gonna have a big ole bruise across the top of your chest and the base of your throat but there's no swelling in your throat and nothing appears broken," Andy told him, "All your vitals are good."

"I'm free to go then?"

"Yeah, just take some ibuprofen to help with any inflammation that we can't see and Tylenol if you experience any pain. If you start to have any trouble breathing or chest pains then go to the ER," Jake advised.

"Will do, thanks guys," he got to his feet and shook both their hands. The EMTs returned to their ambulance speaking to Steve briefly on the way.

Danny shook his head, there was a tight knot in his chest and it had absolutely nothing to do with the bruise he'd be sporting there. Walking across to where Steve, Chin and Kono were talking he spoke to Steve, "What would you like me to do now Commander McGarrett?"

Steve's eyebrows shot up while Kono glanced at her cousin who just shook his head and gave her a 'I'll tell you later' look. "Danny look…"

"Anything you need me to do or should I head back to the office to start on my report Commander?" Danny wasn't in the mood for anything he had to say right now.

"Chin and I will stay here and keep co-ordinating the search, why don't you and Kono head back to the Palace and get started on your reports. If you got a good look at the guy that hit you perhaps you could find him in the pictures of the guys we identified and put out a BOLO just in case he's got passed HPD already."

It was all Danny could do not to comment on how the SEAL had let him get away, if he'd gone after him instead of staying with Danny then he probably would have found the suspect. Yes, checking on your partner was damned important, he'd have done the same, but he would also have listened if that partner told him he was fine and encouraged him to go after the suspect, especially given there were other officers nearby that could have tended to him while Steve and Chin carried on. They were only a radio call away.

"Come on Kono," Danny turned and started to walk back towards the warehouse where they'd left the vehicles.

Kono looked at Chin and he shrugged as he watched Danny walk one way and Steve the other, "Danny's mad at Steve."

"Why?"

"Because Steve stopped to check on him and then refused to leave him to go after the suspect after Danny told him he was alright. Steve pulled the 'I'm in charge' card to get him to stay down until he could be checked out."

"Oh no Cuz, that's not good! I mean I get why Steve stopped to check on Danny and I'm not really sure why he's mad about that, but to pull the boss card!"

"Yeah, look, I'll keep an eye on Steve; you keep an eye on Danny. Hopefully we can figure out a way to fix this!"

"Kono!" Danny called out impatiently.

"Gotta go. Catch you later Cuz," Kono hurried after Danny and Chin followed Steve.

-5-0-

When Danny and Kono got back to the Palace they went to their separate offices not saying a word. Kono didn't want to have her head taken off by the clearly still angry detective and Danny didn't want to take his frustration and anger out on the rookie.

Sitting at his desk Danny ran his hands back over his hair and blew out a huff of air, shaking his head. Turning to his computer he then opened up some files and started to look through the pictures they had of the people they'd identified from surveillance footage that were involved in the gang, hoping to find a picture and a name to be able to put out a BOLO. Finally he found the man. His name was Dieter Davidson or Double D to his gang friends.

"Kono!" he called for his team mate.

"Yeah Danny?" she asked as she hurried into his office.

"That's the guy that hit me; can you get this put out on a BOLO for me please? He was wearing tan cargo pants and a black t-shirt, no logo. He has a tattoo on his right bicep of a three headed dragon breathing flames."

"No problem, I'll get on it now," Kono paused as she went to leave his office, "Danny…"

"Hmmm?" his response was distracted as he had started to pull up the documents required to complete his paperwork.

"Are you alright?"

The detective looked up at the concern in her voice, "Yeah Kono, I'm fine. EMTs checked me out, bruised but fine," he gave her a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"That's not what I meant… Never mind," she turned to leave.

"Kono, what's on your mind? Just spit it out!"

"You called Steve Commander; I've never heard you speak to him that way. I'm just," she shrugged, trying not to make her friend angry, "Worried I guess."

"Look Kono, whatever goes on between me and McGarrett is just that, between us. Don't worry, we'll sort it out," he told her, while thinking to himself _'eventually.'_

"That's just it Danny, it may be between you and Steve, but it affects all of us," she fidgeted not sure how he'd react.

"It'll be alright Kono, go on, go put out the BOLO for me," he tried to reassure her but knew from the slump of her shoulders that he'd failed. It probably hadn't helped that he'd referred to their boss as McGarrett. He knew she was right, he would need to try to sort out his anger at the SEAL or it would affect the team. It would affect Grace too, she loved Steve and her Danno being mad at her Uncle would make things hard for her. He'd just about decided that he needed to let it go when the man himself walked back into the offices talking to Chin. He got up and went to his office door about to ask Steve for a word but stood listening to what he was saying first; unfortunately it made Danny mad all over again.

"I can't believe Davidson got away!" Steve growled, "All those bloody police officers in those trees and we couldn't locate him! We're going to look so incompetent. Over twenty officers couldn't find one fucking man in a small patch of trees!"

Danny didn't know why, but it was like someone had ignited the fuse once again and he stepped out of his office and in front of Steve, getting into the SEAL's personal space, which he knew the other man hated.

"The reason, Commander McGarrett, we're gonna look incompetent is because _you_ didn't listen to your partner when he told you to go after the guy! Had you listened then you would have been right behind him!"

"What the hell Danny? You were down so I stopped to check on you!" Steve defended himself, taking a small step back from the smaller man who suddenly seemed much larger than normal in his anger.

"Yes, I was and you did. Then I told you I was fine and to go after him!"

"Oh right, I'm just supposed to believe that when I know you'd tell me you were fine if you had a hole in you somewhere!"

"Firstly, if I'd had a hole in me then you'd have seen blood, was there any blood? No! Secondly there were over twenty other personnel on scene all it would have taken was a call over the radio and I would have had more help than you could shake a stick at!"

"Shake a stick at?" Steve didn't really know what else to say, because his partner was right.

"Seriously? Out of those sentences that's what you pick up on? Are you for real?"

Kono and Chin were standing together near the computer table watching the train wreck in front of them, not sure how to stop it or even if they should try. Taking a deep breath Chin decided he needed to at least make an attempt to calm the situation.

"Danny…"

"No Chin!" he was cut off by Danny before he could say anything else, "Commander McGarrett has been overprotective of me for too long now! It cost us one of the gang members and from what I saw he was one of the lieutenants. I thought that he was just low level muscle but when I looked into the files all the lieutenants have a three headed dragon on their bicep. Guess what was on Davidson's bicep Commander? We all know that the whole gang are nasty but those lieutenants are vicious with no thought to innocent bystanders, including children!"

"Danny, I wasn't being overprotective! You were lying on the ground having gasping!"

"Because I'd just been hit in the chest! Not because I was dying! I wasn't in any danger from another attack and back up wasn't even a minute away!"

"I didn't know you weren't dying Danny! For fuck sake you were struggling to speak. I saw his arm strike you in the throat, if that had been hard enough it could crush your windpipe or even break your neck!" Steve was getting angry now as well.

"Well clearly my neck wasn't broken and my windpipe was fine since I was _talking_! You let a suspect get away now you have to deal with the consequences!" Danny's hands were flying in the space between the two men who ordinarily considered themselves brothers.

"I'd rather deal with the consequences of a suspect on the loose than a _dead_ partner!"

"I would rather be dead than know that there is a man out there who has no qualms about hurting children in his quest to become part of a gang that dominates the arms trade!"

Chin and Kono gasped at that, Steve looked dumbfounded. How could he say he'd rather be dead? What the hell was going on here? Their team was unravelling and nobody knew how to fix it.

"I can't believe you just said that!" Steve told his partner.

"That gang has killed children with their weapons. I have a child. I can't imagine losing her because a police officer didn't do everything in his power to stop those responsible for dealing in those weapons!" Danny's voice was quieter now.

"So what you're saying is that if someone gets killed because I let this guy get away then it's my fault?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying Commander!"

"I'll leave you to die in the future then!" the words were out before Steve could stop them. It didn't matter that Danny hadn't actually been dying it was an awful thing to say but Danny's words had cut Steve as effectively as a knife. Clenching his fists by his sides, desperately trying to avoid punching the man he had loved like a brother, Steve walked away and quietly closed his office door. How could Danny say that to him? After all the things Steve has done to keep this island and the people living there safe, after all the things he's had to sacrifice.

"Danny! Steve!" Chin admonished as their boss walked away.

"Oh my god!" Kono exclaimed. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard; her eyes were actually filled with tears, her two brothers arguing to the point where they'd said awful things to one another.

The moment he said it Danny knew it was wrong but being so angry meant he just couldn't back down so he just ploughed on until Steve wanted to take his head off. Not exactly the smartest thing to do but then to hear the man he had loved as a brother wish he'd leave him to die... He had to get out of there, like right now! Without a word he walked out of the offices.

"Chin…"

"I know Cuz," he pulled Kono into a tight embrace as he looked between where Danny had just walked out and where Steve was pacing his office. This time he didn't think even his calm voice of reason would repair the damage.

-5-0-

Steve kept pacing his office wondering how he could have let things spiral so far out of control. He was the head of the unit and it was his job to keep the team together. He and Danny had effectively torn a hole right through the middle of it. Could it be fixed? One thing was for sure he was tracking down the scumbag that had clotheslined Danny and putting him in a cell… Tonight. Decision made Steve entered back into the main office.

"Kono, any hits on that BOLO?" he asked, voice steely with determination.

"Er, let me check," she replied, voice wobbling from emotion.

"Chin, we need to find this guy."

"We will Steve," the older man reassured him.

"No hits on the BOLO boss," Kono informed him, "But HPD are checking all his known hang outs and tracking down known associates."

"Right, let's start helping them with that," Steve ordered, "Kono get a list of places HPD still need to check, Chin and I will hit the streets, you stay here to co-ordinate. I don't want one single place he's been or person he knows left unchecked."

"Yes boss."

"Come on Chin," Steve started to stride out of the office.

"It'll be alright Cuz," Chin squeezed Kono's arm, trying to convince himself as much as her and then hurried after Steve.

It took hours of searching different places on the island. All ways off the island had been cut off as best as they could. Private airfields were being watched as much as possible. There was just no way Steve was letting Davidson go. He'd been part of the reason for the rift with Danny and the SEAL was now like a dog with a bone.

Finally in the early hours of Thursday morning Davidson was located by Steve and Chin. They had cornered him at the home of one of his many girlfriends. Davidson hadn't wanted to give up and had tried using his girlfriend as a hostage. That had been a mistake because Danny's words rang through Steve's mind; if someone else was killed because Davidson had got away it would be his fault.

Chin tried to talk him down but the moment Davidson prepared to fire his weapon he was a dead man. Steve was standing just out of sight and the moment Davidson moved enough for him to have a clear shot he took it. Double D was dead before he hit the ground.

There was no satisfaction in the death of the suspect for the SEAL, the rift between he and Danny was still there. The words they'd both said still fresh in his mind despite the hours that had passed. Only now he'd calmed down he could understand what Danny was saying. He _had_ been overly protective recently. In his eyes that was understandable after everything Danny had been through but he had told Danny that he would never make the mistake of underestimating him not that long ago and wasn't that part of what the detective's problem was as well.

Maybe he thought that by ignoring his instructions to follow the suspect after he told him he was fine, not only was Steve fussing and being over protective but he was underestimating Danny's ability to recover from being struck. Steve would have done exactly the same as Danny if things had been reversed. The SEAL felt a wave of sadness washing over him. He really hoped that their partnership could be fixed, even more so he hoped their relationship as brothers wasn't irreparably damaged.

There was nothing more that could be done so he dropped Chin at home, instructed Kono to call it a night, telling them both he didn't want to see them until lunchtime before driving home and collapsing into bed, the weight of the evenings events weighing heavily.

-5-0-

Danny had left his car keys on his desk along with his phone and wallet. Too angry to return to collect them he decided a walk to calm down would be best so turned left out of the building and started walking.

It wasn't long before he found himself walking towards the ocean and eventually walking by Ala Moana Beach Park. Considering it was now gone midnight the park was closed but he could still hear the sound of the water, which for once he actually found soothing. Unfortunately it also reminded him of the SEAL. Man, how had things gone so bad so quick? His Ma always said his temper gets him in trouble; well it certainly had this time. He totally got where Steve was coming from now he'd calmed down. The amount of injuries he'd sustained plus the fact that Shane Warner was still 'out there' somewhere kind of made it understandable why the man was so overprotective. Yes, he was sure that if their roles were reversed he'd be a mother hen too. Crap. Stopping he looked around and found that he'd actually been walking, lost in thought, for a couple of hours. He was actually near Honolulu Zoo right outside Kapiolani Park. Spotting a bench he decided to sit for a while, only now realising how tired he actually was. Small wonder given that it was 02:00 AM and he'd had a busy day.

Running his hands back over his hair, just one of the many signs that signified he was stressed or frustrated, he sighed. What if the damage done to their partnership was too great? Hell, forget their partnership, what if he'd irreparably damaged their relationship as brothers? Steve, Chin and Kono were really the only people he had on this pineapple infested hellhole apart from Grace. If he couldn't repair his relationship with Steve he'd lose his ohana and likely his job too.

Danny was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the approach of the group of people until he was struck from behind. Taken by surprise he was knocked off the bench and landed on his front. Quickly realising that he was being attacked he flipped over and tried to get to his feet. The group didn't give him a chance before they were on him, punching and kicking. Danny was overwhelmed by the force. It was one against four, unfair odds at the best of times but even more so when he'd been caught by surprise and was emotionally and physically exhausted. Still the fighter in him was still there and he struck out with his own fists and feet as much as he possibly could, scratching more than one of his assailants. Even now his thoughts were of evidence to catch these individuals with.

The detective had lost count of how many times he had been punched and kicked. The blows that rained down were all over his body. Arms, legs, torso, face… nowhere was left untouched. Just when Danny was feeling that the pain was taking over his body and his consciousness was in question he heard a car followed by a shout. A last kick to his head left him reeling and then they were gone, the sound of footsteps running.

Groaning Danny tried desperately to get up, he knew he needed help. There wasn't a bit of his body that didn't hurt. A voice stopped him.

"Sir, I've called for an ambulance, stay still," the voice was firm but soft at the same time.

Prying open eyes that were heavily bruised he could just make out the blurry form of a man leaning over him before he lost consciousness.

The next time he woke up it was to the sound of familiar voices, "Danny, can you hear me?"

"Jake?" the name came out slightly slurred as well as muffled.

"Yeah Danny," there was a slight huff of relief, "I'm just going to put a collar on you and then we'll put you on a backboard and get you to the hospital. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Attacked."

"Yeah, I can see that," replied Jake, "Do you know who did it?"

"No. DNA." He waved his hand slightly and Jake turned to speak to someone.

"Hey Detective Williams, it's Officer Iona, did you scratch one of your attackers?" they'd been told by the man that had called 911 that he'd seen four people run off.

"Yeah."

"Alright," he turned away before coming back with something in his hand, "I don't normally do this Detective, but I'm going to scrape under your fingernails," the officer didn't want the evidence compromised in the ER and the EMTs were still moving around their patient prepping him to be moved.

"'K."

It only took a moment and it was done, "We'll get this straight to the crime lab. I'm going to call Commander McGarrett and let him know what's happened."  
>"No!" the word was as forceful as he could manage through the swelling on his face and the desire to just fall into the blackness at the edge of his vision.<p>

"You don't want me to call the Commander?" Officer Iona was surprised at this.

"No. Please."

"What about Detective Kelly or Officer Kalakaua," he asked.

"No," Danny was getting agitated.

"Calm down Danny, nobody is going to do anything you don't want them to," Jake assured, glancing at the police officer, just as surprised as he was.

"I won't call them Detective," agreed Officer Iona, "Can I come in the ambulance with you?" he felt that someone from the department should be there and the brusque loudmouth detective was now well liked amongst the uniformed officers, even if not by the other detectives.

"'K."

"Alright, we're just going to move you onto the backboard Danny," Jake told him. Once he was sure his patient understood the EMTs, with the help of the two responding officers, eased him onto the board and then placed him on the gurney.

The movement caused Danny to cry out in pain before he passed out. Jake quickly checked his vitals and exchanged worried glances with his partner. Andy closed the doors of the ambulance before climbing in and driving off, lights and sirens blaring.

Officer Iona's partner stayed at the scene to wait for the crime scene team, she would meet him at the hospital when she was finished.

-5-0-

Doctor Henry Jensen stretched as he walked through the ER. They had entered a quieter part of the shift and he was enjoying a few minutes to take a break. That changed when a gurney came through the doors with two of his favourite EMTs, an air of urgency surrounding them.

"Doctor Jensen," Andy called when he spotted him.

"What have you got?" he asked hurrying over.

"It's Danny Williams. He was assaulted. Multiple contusions, lacerations, swelling…" replied Jake. The medical staff hurried through to their major trauma room with Jake listing injuries and vitals.

Once Danny was settled onto a bed in the ER and the two EMTs had removed their equipment they left the room reluctantly. Officer Iona had been ushered back into the waiting area.

Henry shone a light in Danny's eyes and wasn't happy with the response he was getting. He pinched at one of his patient's fingers and was relieved to get a reaction, albeit a less than articulate one.

"Huh?"

"Danny, its Henry, you're in Queens ER after being assaulted. Can you hear me?"

"Hmm."

"I know you're hurting Danny but I need you to try to stay with me here, OK?"

"'K.'

"Can you tell me where you hurt the most?"

It seemed for a moment like Danny wasn't going to answer, but he was actually trying to gauge which of his body parts that were currently screaming at him was being the loudest, "Head."

"Alright. We need to get him down for an MRI, I want a full body scan to check for internal bleeding and any fractures…" he continued to bark out orders to the nursing staff that scurried to obey.

"Don't… call…"

"Sorry Danny? What was that?"

"Don't… call… the team."

"What? You don't want me to call Steve, Chin or Kono?"

"No."

"Danny…"  
>"No."<p>

Not understanding what was going on but not wanting to upset his patient right now he went along with the request, "Alright, we won't call them. Is there anyone you'd like us to call?"

"No."

"Very well," Henry agreed. He didn't have time for this puzzle right now as Danny was whisked off for an MRI.

When the results came back they were both good and bad. "Danny," Henry leaned over his patient who had lost consciousness again on the way to the MRI. He was hoping to be able to let him know what was going on, even if he wouldn't remember later, "Can you hear me Danny?"

"Mmm."

"The MRI results are back, you have a subdural hematoma and we need to perform a Craniotomy to remove the clot and reduce intracranial pressure," that was the bad news. The good news, much to Henry's amazement, was despite the extent of the bruising all over Danny's body there was no other internal bleeding or broken bones, "Do you understand Danny?"

"Mmm."

"Danny, do you understand?" Henry wasn't yet convinced.

"Yeah," two eyes, barely slits, looked directly at Henry. Despite all the pain and the fog Danny did understand and he was scared.

"It's going to be alright Danny," reassured Henry. You're in the best possible hands with Doctor Harris, he's our neurosurgeon. Are you sure you don't want me to call anyone?"

"No call," insisted Danny.

"Alright," one last squeeze of his patient's shoulder and he was wheeled out of the ER.

Henry rubbed his hands over his face as he walked out of the trauma room. Should he overrule his patient and call his emergency contact anyway? Why would Danny refuse to let the team know where he was? Damn it! Danny had been lucid enough to make his wishes clear so he really couldn't go against him.

-5-0-

Danny woke in a haze of pain with the feeling of being unable to swallow, voices he didn't recognise were speaking to him. He tried desperately to open his eyes to see who it was but they refused to co-operate. Eventually the voice penetrated the pain filled fog.

"Danny, you're in recovery after surgery to remove a blood clot on your brain. You're still on a ventilator to help you breathe, just let it do the work," a cool hand touched his forehead, "It's OK, everything is going to be just fine."

His eyelids were peeled back, which in itself was painful enough given that he hadn't been capable of opening them; add to that a penlight piercing them and the pain in his skull increased tenfold.

"Alright Danny, it's OK. I'm done now."

"Danny, I'm Doctor Harris," another voice joined the first. "I know you're probably more than a little disorientated at the moment but we'll try to make you as comfortable as we can. I'm just going to remove the ventilator. Can you manage a little cough when I ask?" A nod in response and he was removing the tube from Danny's throat, "Cough."

In Danny's opinion it was the most pathetic cough in the history of man but it was enough to get the tube out of his throat. He licked his dry lips.

"I've got some water here Danny," the first voice came back, "I'm going to put a straw against your lips, just a few sips now OK."

As soon as he felt the straw he wrapped his lips around it and drank, disappointed when it disappeared.

"You can have some more in a little while."

"Can't open my eyes," Danny's voice didn't sound like his. It was scratchy sounding.

"Can you remember what happened Danny?" Doctor Harris asked.

"Fuzzy."

"I'm sure, that's perfectly normal. You were attacked and received several blows to your face; the result is an inordinate amount of swelling which includes both of your eyes. You were very lucky given the extent of the bruising that you don't have any other internal bleeding or broken bones."

He reached up to touch his face but was prevented by a hand on his arm, "No Danny, don't try to move or touch anything right now. We've placed an Intracranial Pressure monitor and there's a lead running from your scalp to the machine, we don't want you pulling it out. I'm sure this isn't making any sense to you right now but I need you to trust me, OK?"

"'K."

"Good. We're going to move you to the Neuro ICU in a few minutes," Doctor Harris had a lot more he could tell his patient but he really didn't think he'd take it in right now. The main thing was to get him settled in NSICU (Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit) and let him rest while they monitored him closely.

-5-0-

Steve woke with a heavy feeling in his chest. It wasn't physical and it took a minute for him to remember why it was there. When he remembered it felt like a knife to his heart all over again. He'd argued with Danny. Looking over at his clock he saw that it was only 06:00 AM but he figured he might as well get up.

An hour later he came back in from a run and swim but felt no better. There was only one way to resolve this and that was to tackle it head on. Picking up his cell he pressed the speed dial for his partner. The call went to voicemail.

"Hey Danny, I think we need to talk. Call me when you get this. Please." Steve hung up the phone. Although he'd told Chin and Kono he didn't want to see them until lunchtime he decided that he'd head into the office now, with nothing else to keep his mind occupied he'd go crazy.

He pulled his truck into the lot at the Palace and noticed that Danny's car was already there. At least that meant he might be able to corner the man in order for them to talk. It was with an unusual amount of trepidation that he entered the 5-0 offices looking for Danny.

There was no sign of him in the office, so he decided to wait and see if perhaps he'd just gone to the men's room but twenty minutes later he still wasn't there. Leaving his own office he entered Danny's. The keys for the Camaro were on his desk, right next to his phone and wallet. No way had he left the building to get something to eat then if his wallet was still here. The cell phone screen was flashing with an icon indicating a missed call. Going back to his own office he checked the office voicemail to make sure there wasn't a message that might tell him of Danny's whereabouts, there was nothing. Where the hell was he?

The main office doors opened and Steve quickly got to his feet thinking Danny had returned. He was somewhat disappointed to see Kono and Chin entering.

"Hey guys, I thought I told you to come in at lunchtime," Steve remarked.

"I was up so might as well be here," Kono replied, the tone of her voice indicating she was still deeply affected by the previous night's events.

"Everything alright Steve?" Chin asked concerned.

"Not really Chin. I called Danny earlier hoping to arrange to talk but he didn't answer. When I got here I noticed the Camaro so figured he was in the office. His phone, keys and wallet are here but he's not."

"That does seem strange," agreed Chin.

"Oh no," Kono's face blanched.

"What is it Cuz?"

"I didn't even think about it when I left last night."

"Kono, tell me what's wrong," insisted Steve.

"Danny's car was still in the parking lot as I left! I didn't even give it a thought! I was so tired it didn't even register!"

"That doesn't mean anything Kono; he could have come back after you left." Chin placed a calming hand on her arm.

"He was so upset when he left…" she trailed off looking guiltily at Steve.

"It's alright Kono. We were both upset and said things that we didn't mean. Perhaps he went downstairs to speak to one of the detectives."

Although HPD was housed in another building there was a small contingent of detectives that were also based out of the Palace. There had been occasions where someone from 5-0 had needed to go down and speak to one of them.

"I'll go and check," Kono offered, leaving before either man could comment. They stood in silence waiting for her return.

"Anything?"

"No. He hasn't been down there."

"What are we going to do?"

"Nothing we can do at the moment Chin. Danny's a grown man capable of making his own decisions. We'll give it another hour and if we haven't heard anything I'll call HPD myself and put out a BOLO."

"Alright," Chin agreed, knowing that they couldn't hit the panic button just because there had been a heated argument between the first and second in command of the unit, "Any new cases come in?"

Kono spoke again, "The detectives downstairs were talking about an assault that took place in the early hours of this morning and apparently the victim was really badly beaten and sustained a serious head injury. They said that the MO was similar to three other attacks that have taken place in the last two weeks."

"Alright, let's see if HPD need any assistance on that," suggested Steve, already picking up the phone to call the HPD Captain.

"Captain Akana."

"Captain, Steve McGarrett."

"If you're calling to take the case off my people McGarrett you can forget it!" growled the Captain not even giving Steve a chance to explain the reason for his call.

"Whoa! You've lost me Captain; I don't know what you mean. I was calling to see if we can be of any assistance with the assault case that you're working on."

"You mean to tell me that under the circumstances 5-0 doesn't want jurisdiction of it?"

"What circumstances? Captain I'm sorry but I don't understand."

"Commander, do you know who the latest victim was?" the Captain's voice softened.

"No Sir, we only just heard about the case," replied Steve warily. Something told him he wasn't going to like this.

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but Detective Williams was attacked in the early hours of this morning. He's currently at Queens…"

"What? It was Danny?"

"Yes Commander, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do…"

"We need to get to the hospital. Thank you Captain," Steve hung up the phone and started to head out of the office. Chin and Kono following even though they didn't know exactly what was going on they knew it had to do with Danny and they needed to get to the hospital.

-5-0-

"Why didn't anyone call us?" Kono was distraught that they hadn't known Danny had been attacked.

"I don't know Cuz," replied Chin as Steve pulled the truck into a parking space and they jogged to the ER.

"I intend to find out!" Steve approached the reception desk of the ER, "I need to speak to someone about Detective Danny Williams."

"Are you a relative?"

"I'm his boss, Commander Steve McGarrett, as well as his emergency contact."

"Just a moment please Commander," the receptionist picked up her phone and called someone, "Please take a seat and the doctor will be with you shortly."

Steve nodded but didn't take a seat. He paced the area in front of the desk while he waited. Nothing Chin or Kono said made him stop.

"Steve!"

"Henry! What the hell's going on?"

"Let's go somewhere more private shall we?" Henry ushered the three friends down the corridor and into an office.

"Well, how's Danny and why didn't anyone call me to tell me he was here?"

"How did you find out?"

"It doesn't matter how I found out Henry!" Steve raised his voice.

"Steve, you weren't called because Danny expressly asked me not to contact anyone on the team. I need to know how you found out because if anyone at the hospital went against that request…"

"Captain Akana at HPD told me!" Steve immediately deflated. Danny hadn't wanted them here.

"Steve, I have to ask, why would Danny refuse to let me call you?"

"We had an argument; we were both pretty upset and said some things that I'm sure we both regret now. I know I do at least," Steve rubbed his hands over his face, "How is he?"

"I can't tell you that," Henry held up his hand to stop the protests, "He asked me not to call you, just because you've found out he's here doesn't mean I can tell you about his condition. I have to respect his wishes Steve," it was hard for him to say it to the clearly distraught team but his patient came first.

"Could you please at least speak to him? Ask him if he'd let us see him or let you tell us what his condition is? Please Henry."

"OK, I'll see what I can do. Wait here."

-5-0-

"How is he?" Henry asked Doctor Harris as he entered the NSICU.

"He's been in and out of consciousness since surgery. The last time he regained consciousness he was coherent and seemed to understand where he was and what had happened, at least to some degree."

"Would you mind if I spoke to him?"

Doctor Harris appraised his colleague with a raised eyebrow, "I don't see why not. He might even respond to you better as he knows you."

"Thanks," Henry smiled and walked to Danny's room, sliding the door open. It didn't matter that he'd already seen this man he now considered a friend down in the ER, the sight of his bruised and battered body still caused him to pause. Approaching the bed he spoke to the nurse in the room, "Hello Doris, Doctor Harris said I can speak to him."

"Go right ahead Doctor Jensen, just speak to him before you touch him, he's a might skittish since his eyes are swollen so bad he can't open them without assistance."

"Thanks for the heads up," he smiled gratefully as he stood next to the bed, "Danny?"

Danny had heard the door slide open and Henry speak to the nurse so knew who was in the room, "Henry."

The doctor gently lay his hand on his friend's arm, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Are you in any pain?"

"No."

"That's good at least."

"He hasn't long had a dose of pain meds," Doris supplied from across the bed where she was checking the monitors he was attached to.

"I need to ask you something Danny, but I need you to remain calm otherwise Nurse Doris here will kick my butt!" he grinned over at the nurse.

"Damn right. Don't you be upsetting my patient now Doctor Jensen!"

"OK," there was a hint of worry in his voice.

"You asked me earlier not to call your team and I didn't," he hastily explains, "However the Captain at HPD told Steve when he called him about a case."

"They're here aren't they?"

"Yes, they're in my office. I told them you requested that I not call them and I couldn't tell them about your condition unless I had your permission to do so. I also need to ask you what you want done in regards to informing your ex-wife and daughter," that had only just popped into his head and he was kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner. There was silence and Henry felt he could give a small push without upsetting Danny as he'd taken the news his team was at the hospital better than he'd thought he would, "Look Danny, Steve told me that you had an argument, said that you both said some things that you may both regret, but he made clear he definitely does."

"He should be angry," Danny replied his voice quiet.

"Well he isn't. The overriding concern here is you and how you're doing. He'd like to see you but would settle for knowing your condition if that's all you're willing to give him right now."

"OK."

"Danny I need you to be clear about what you want please."

"They can visit. I'd like to talk to them about speaking to Rachel and Grace anyway."

"Alright, I'll let them know. It'll be a little while so try to get some rest in the meantime."

"OK and Henry?"

"Yes Danny."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

-5-0-

"Do you think he'll agree to see us?" Kono asked anxiously.

"I don't know. He was pretty upset," pointed out Steve.

"So were you but as soon as you heard the only thing you could think about was getting here," Chin stated calmly.

"He's my brother and even brother's fight, right?"

"Yeah Steve, even brother's fight."

The three settled into an uncomfortable silence which was only broken when Henry returned to the room.

"Alright, he's agreed you can visit," there was a palpable change in the atmosphere of the room, "Before you do let me tell you about his injuries. Danny sustained bruises and lacerations all over his body. When I say all over, I mean all over. None of the lacerations are serious; most didn't even need anything but a clean. I will tell you he's damn lucky to not have had any internal bleeding or broken bones."

"One of the detectives I spoke to earlier said something about a serious head injury."

"I was just getting to that. Several blows to his head caused a subdural hematoma, it was large enough to be of concern and a Craniotomy was performed by our top neurosurgeon, Doctor Harris."

"Craniotomy?"

"Yes, Doctor Harris had to cut Danny's scalp then remove a section of his skull, also called a bone flap, to enable him to access where the hematoma, or blood clot, was located. Once that was done he replaced the bone flap using plates and screws. There's a small hole that has been left as Doctor Harris felt it prudent to put a monitor in to keep an eye on the intracranial pressure."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Doctor Harris was very happy with the procedure but he's being closely monitored in the Neuro ICU. He's being given medication for pain, nausea as well as steroids to help with any remaining swelling. Once Doctor Harris is satisfied that the intracranial pressure is sufficiently decreased he'll remove the monitor and Danny will be transferred to a regular room."

"How long will he be in for?"

"It could be up to two weeks depending on how he responds to treatment. The staples will be removed in ten days."

"And when he's ready to be discharged?" Steve needed to know all the details before seeing Danny in case he asked any questions.

"There's restrictions."

"Such as?"

"He won't be allowed to drive or sit for long periods of time. No lifting anything heavier than five pounds. No housework or yard work until after he's had his first follow up appointment with Doctor Harris, which includes things as simple as loading or unloading a dishwasher. He won't be allowed to drink alcohol. He'll be tired but will need to be encouraged to gradually increase to normal activities. Walking is good, obviously starting out with short walks and increasing them over a period of time. A full recovery could take up to eight weeks but he should be improved enough after four."

"That's a lot of information to take in!" Chin was trying to remember everything they'd been told.

"Don't worry, it will all be repeated before he's discharged. The main thing is he mustn't over do it."

"What are the risks from this?"

"The things he's most at risk from now are stroke; seizures; swelling. The fact that he's already conscious and talking rules out any brain damage and his nurse hasn't reported any signs of muscle paralysis or weakness." Henry gave them a few minutes to take in everything that he told them before speaking again, "You should also know that Danny can't currently open his eyes due to the swelling he sustained to his face. It's possible that he could suffer some psychological issues from this as well given the severity of the attack."

"Can we see him, please?" begged Kono. His condition had sounded so dire that she felt the only way she would feel any better was to actually see for herself that Danny was still with them.

"Of course, come on I'll take you up," the three followed him out to the elevators. As they waited for it to arrive at the correct floor he told them what Nurse Doris had told him, "Talk to him before you touch him, because he can't see you right now he needs to be told that you're there."

Henry showed them into the NSICU and introduced them to Doctor Harris before taking them to Danny's room and introducing them to Nurse Doris.

"Don't over excite him please," Doris said from her place in the door and then she stepped aside to allow them to enter the room.

There was a brief pause as they took in the sight of Danny. His head was wrapped in a turban like bandage with bruises covering his face, arms and chest and that was just the bruises they could see. The bed had various monitors for his heart rate, blood pressure, intracranial pressure and O2. A nasal cannula sat under his nose giving him additional oxygen and an IV was providing essential fluids and medicine. A catheter ran out from under the sheet covering him leading to a bag so that his urine output could be monitored. Steve winced at that; out of everything he knew that would cause Danny the most embarrassment.

The head of 5-0 was the first to approach the bed, "Danny, are you awake?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb him if he was getting much needed rest.

"Yeah," the answer was short but Steve was glad that at least he wasn't being ignored.

"How you feeling?" Chin asked as he approached as well.

"Like I took a beating."

"We'd have been here sooner Danny, but we didn't know…" Kono trailed off remembering that Danny hadn't wanted them to know.

"'S OK. My fault."

"No, no Danny it wasn't your fault," Steve said, his voice hitching slightly, "If we hadn't argued… but now's not the time to discuss that. You need to concentrate on getting better."

Chin nodded in approval, the two men would need to speak about what happened but now was definitely not the time. Of course they hadn't bargained on Danny's stubborn streak appearing at that moment.

"'M sorry for what I said Steve. Not your fault."

"Hey," the SEAL lay a hand gently over Danny's, the one without the IV, "We can talk about it when you're better, but for what it's worth I'm sorry too. I would _never_ leave you to die, you have to know that."

Danny turned his hand over underneath Steve's, "I know that," he gave the hand in his a squeeze, well as much of one as he could manage given he was still as weak as a kitten, "For the record Danny, he's dead."

"He is?"

"Yup, Steve shot him."

"You did?"

"I did."

"Had cause though?"

Oh yeah, Danny was going to be fine if he was worrying about Steve sticking to procedure despite the fact he was lying in a hospital bed barely able to string a sentence together.

"Yeah Danny, he had cause," Chin chuckled and put his hand very gently on Danny's shoulder.

"Good."

Steve felt a tremor run through Danny as he continued to hold his hand. He turned to the nurse, "He's trembling."

"Danny?" Doris asked.

"Cold."

"Alright I'll get you an extra blanket. I think you need to get some rest now," she looked pointedly at his visitors.

"I'm not going anywhere," at her glare Steve continued, "I will sit here quietly, but I'm not leaving him."

"Stubborn," mumbled Danny.

"Pot calling the kettle black again! Rest, I'll be here when you wake up," ordered Steve gently.

"Rachel! Grace!" Danny suddenly spoke louder as he recalled what he needed to ask the team to do.

"We'll go by the house and speak to Rachel brah, don't worry about it," Chin told him.

"Don't want…" he trailed off too tired to string the thought into a sentence.

"You don't want Grace to visit right now?" Steve could still read Danny like a book where his daughter was concerned.

"No."

"Alright, I'll tell Rachel." Both Kono and Chin said goodbye and instructed Steve to call them if there was any change or either man needed anything.

-5-0-

The next day Doctor Harris was very happy that the intracranial pressure had stabilised and removed the monitor allowing Danny to be moved into a regular room. He was still tired and could only remain awake for up to an hour before he needed to rest again but it was a great relief that he wouldn't be likely to require more surgery.

Steve had only gone home to get some rest after Danny had been moved to a regular room and had insisted that the stubborn SEAL needed to get some sleep in a bed as opposed to an uncomfortable hospital chair. Not wanting to push his blood pressure up when they'd just got him off some of the monitors he reluctantly agreed.

That evening when Steve arrived back at the hospital Danny had some additional visitors in the form of Officers Ani Kale and Kai Kealoha, they were talking to Chin and Kono as Danny slept.

"Hey," Steve greeted quietly as he entered the room, "How's the patient?"

"Doctor Harris is pleased with his progress so far," replied Chin equally as quietly, "Ani and Kai dropped by to give us an update on the search for his attackers."

"Did you get 'em?" asked a sleepy voice from the bed.

Kai moved over to stand next to Danny, "Yeah man, we did. Thanks to you."

"What I do?"

"Can you remember what happened?" Ani prompted gently, they'd been told to take his statement if he was up to it.

"Not as clearly as I'd like."

"If you're not up to talking about this right now, you don't have to," Steve chimed in.

"It's OK Steve," he tried to smile but his face was still too swollen so he settled on reaching a hand out which the SEAL took as he carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, "I'd walked from the office and ended up at Kapiolani Park."

"That's quite a walk," commented Kai.

"Yeah I was kind of lost in my own world," responded Danny not prepared to tell Kai and Ani why. He was hoping to keep this within the 5-0 family, no doubt there'd be rumours but he wasn't going to fuel the fires.

"Alright go on."

"When I realised how far I'd walked I decided to sit on a bench and take a break. I guess I was still lost in thought because the first I knew that there was anyone else even around was when I was struck from behind," he paused and drew in a breath to compose himself. There were so many things wrong with that sentence considering he was a seasoned detective.

"Take your time Danny."

"I don't really remember much about the attack or afterwards to be honest. I can remember trying to fight people off but there were too many hands and feet. Then I heard a man's voice call out and they were gone."

"You don't remember scratching any of them and telling Officer Iona that you had DNA under your nails?"

"Huh? No."

"Well Danny you did and that's how we caught two of them," Kai told him. "There was a mixture of their epithelials under your nails. They were in the database because they had been convicted of a previous assault and battery, but nowhere near this level of violence."

"We brought them in and questioned them. It wasn't long before they gave up the names of the other two and we arrested them as well. They claim they didn't know you were a police officer," Ani continued.

"They probably didn't, not like I identified myself."

"That may be the case but they would have seen your badge, you were still wearing it Danny."

"Do you know why?" he needed to know. Of course it could have been that he was just unlucky but there was something about the viciousness of the assault that made him question that.

Kai and Ani exchanged looks. This was something they didn't really want to have to tell him; in fact they were having trouble wrapping their heads around it themselves. Steve noticed and raised an eyebrow at them. The pair looked uncomfortable.

"Ani, Kai?" Danny could hear they were still in the room but of course he couldn't see them, "Why don't you want to tell me?"

"It's not that we don't want to… well OK, yeah it is, but we don't want to upset you," Kai admitted. He had a lot of respect for Danny, too much to lie to him now.

"Tell me," he stated his tone brooking no argument.

Kai looked at Steve once more and when he received a nod he took a deep breath and told them, "All four are native Hawaiians and agreed that people they see as foreigners shouldn't be allowed on the islands. They decided to do something about it and started targeting tourists and other people they deemed non-native. There were four attacks in the last two weeks, including yours, that we knew about but since they've been arrested we've discovered others that were reported as muggings, in total they're responsible for ten targeted attacks."

"They're xenophobic," Danny stated flatly.

"What?" Kono asked.

"They have an abnormal fear or hatred of foreigners. It's different from racism because it's not based solely on ethnicity or race," Steve replied. He knew people that had experienced it during his time in the Navy and had hoped it was something that would never occur here.

"I was targeted because I'm not Hawaiian. I could have been black, orange, pink, it wouldn't have mattered, all that mattered to them was that I wasn't a native."

"That's just screwed up!" growled Kono, angry that one of her older brother's had been injured so badly because of such a narrow viewpoint.

"That's life kiddo," murmured Danny.

"They're lucky HPD caught them," Steve stated. If it had been him then it was possible that none of the men would have made it into custody, especially knowing how close they'd come to losing Danny.

"Well, not so much," Kai grinned.

"What do you mean?" asked Chin suspiciously.

"Well it's possible that they might have tripped or hit their heads getting into the cars, that kind of thing."

"Kai!" admonished Danny; the kid really had been spending too much time with 5-0.

"Nothing to do with us," Ani told them, "The actual arrests were made by a couple of the more senior officers on the force and who are we to argue with our superiors?"

"I'll have to get their names from you," Steve said seriously, then broke out into a grin, "I want to buy them a drink!"

If Danny could have rolled his eyes at Steve he would have, instead he settled for his usual rebuke, "Steven!"

That made them all chuckle. Things weren't fully resolved between the two men but there was an ease in their dealings with each other again which had been missing the night of the argument. They would need to talk but there was time enough for that when Danny was stronger and he was out of the hospital. For now Steve was happy to be there for him and Danny was happy to have him there.


	25. Y is for Yanked

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own.**

**A/N: Thanks so much for reviews, alerts and reading. So we have the penultimate chapter. Not one of my favourites to be honest. Found this one hard to write.**

**So I should probably tell you that I will not be posting for at least a few days, if not longer. I have to go into the hospital this afternoon, again, and I'm expecting some discomfort from the procedure that might make it difficult to sit at a laptop to write. Z isn't even started but I want to make it a long chapter that satisfies you all, so I'd rather take my time and get it right for all of you that have supported this journey.**

**Y is for Yanked**

Danny was sitting out on the decking at Steve's. Although he'd fought the idea at first he'd been staying at the McGarrett house since he had been discharged from hospital two weeks before following a subdural hematoma after he was assaulted.

He had spent a week in the hospital. The first few days had been a haze of visitors through the pain relief he was receiving, once they started to lower the dosage he managed to stay awake longer. This led to him being encouraged to get out of bed for the first time. Danny was extremely grateful that he had no visitors at the time Akela decided he should get up. Movement was difficult and he was rather unstable to start out with, not only due to his head injury but also because of the extensive bruising that covered his body. Everything hurt as he moved but nobody argued with the six foot six inch male nurse. Danny had tried before and come out on the losing end.

Akela then spent the rest of Danny's stay when he was on duty making sure that he was getting up and walking around. Kono had enjoyed visiting at that time, watching the handsome native Hawaiian at work, his muscles rippling as he assisted Danny, supporting him if he needed to as the patient grew more tired. Everyone knew she and Charlie had a 'thing' but what red blooded woman wouldn't rake their eyes over the barrel chested nurse? Right?

When it came time to discuss releasing Danny there was a gathering in his room of Doctor Harris, Henry and Steve. It had basically been the detective protesting staying at Steve's with the other three telling him he had no choice if he wanted to be discharged. The only way Danny had agreed was if Steve promised that as soon as Doctor Harris gave him the all clear to go back to his own apartment the SEAL wouldn't fight him on it. The promise was made, the papers were completed and Danny was released into Steve's care.

There had been a huge elephant in the house ever since and every single time Danny tried to bring it up Steve brushed him off saying he wasn't well enough to be having a serious conversation and as much as he wanted to discuss the argument they had on the night he had been assaulted Steve was right as he tired so quickly. He didn't want to get into the middle of a conversation and need to sleep.

Finally Danny felt strong enough to face the conversation and they were going to have it whether the Navy SEAL wanted to or not! He was just waiting for Steve to get home from work. His partner had taken the first week off work but Doctor Harris felt that during the second week it would be alright to leave Danny alone during the day as long as someone checked on him regularly. Cue a stream of willing volunteers in the form of Kelly/Kalakaua cousins; Ani and Kai, who seemed to have become part of the extended family group; Kamekona and Rachel with Grace. The evenings were covered by the team mostly and of course Steve was on hand throughout the night.

"Danny?"

"Out back," he called back when he heard Steve calling for him.

"Hey, how have you been today?" this was always the first question the other man asked. It didn't matter that he made sure that anyone who 'dropped by' called him to report how Danny was, he always had to ask.

"Good. No dizziness and didn't even need to sleep this afternoon. Rachel dropped by with Grace after school and we went for a short walk down the beach."

Doctor Harris was encouraging walking as it was a good form of exercise to regain strength following the sort of injury Danny had sustained. Each day one of his visitors would make sure that he got the chance to stretch his legs as he was not yet allowed to go alone.

"That's an improvement then. When's your next appointment with Doctor Harris?"

Danny rolled his eyes, grateful that he could. Following the assault his face had been so swollen both his eyes closed and he spent a few days in darkness unable to open them, "I've already told you Steven, Monday morning. 09:00 AM," Danny was hoping to be allowed to return to the office following that appointment, even if just for desk duty.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Steve grinned. He knew all too well when it was as it was in his calendar, he also knew what his partner was hoping to get out of the visit. The smile fell slightly as the word partner popped into his head. Sure he used to refer to Danny as that regularly, but under these kinds of circumstances he had taken to using the term brother until that fateful night.

"That's it, sit your ass down Steven, we're going to have a talk!" Danny ordered.

"I was going to rustle up something for dinner," he pointed back into the kitchen.

"We'll order in once we've talked! Sit!"

"At least let me get a drink."

"Fine. If you're not back here in two minutes I'm going to come drag your ass out of the house and you know Doctor Harris said I shouldn't exert myself!"

Steve vanished inside the house and reappeared promptly. He set a bottle of water down in front of Danny then sat in the chair next to his opening his beer. Catching the look on the other man's face he smiled, "No, you can't have alcohol yet Danno!"

"Yeah, I know. It's one of those things you know, if I could have it then I wouldn't be fussed but because I can't have it that makes me want a beer all the more!"

"You want me to put this back and get a bottle of water?"

"No Steve, I want you to stop using excuses to avoid the conversation we need to have."

"I'm not."

"Really? That'll be the first time in two weeks!"

"I just didn't want you to get upset. You're recovering from a serious head injury Danny."

"Yes but not talking about that argument, leaving the massive elephant in the room, isn't helping my stress levels. We need to talk about it, get it out in the open and move on."

"Alright, I didn't realise it was causing you that much of an issue."

"Causing me an issue? Steve I told you that anything Davidson did after he got away would be your fault! The moment I said the words I wanted to take them back but I was just so damned angry. It had been a long day and we were all tired but that's no excuse for the things I said to you."

"I wasn't any better Danno. I told you that I'd leave you to die next time…"

"Only after I pushed you to it."

"That doesn't matter. I'm the head of the team; I should have controlled my temper and the situation better. I know I should have listened to you when you told me to go after Davidson, but when I saw you go down when he hit you I couldn't see anything else but you lying on the ground."

"When I had time to calm down and think rationally I understood your reaction. It's been a helluva time for drama and every time something has happened you've been right by my side getting me through it."

"Well when I calmed down I realised that you had a point, I was being overprotective. It would have been different if there hadn't been assistance close by but there was."

The two men looked at each other and both spoke at the same time, "I'm sorry."

"Brothers?" asked Danny.

"Brothers," agreed Steve.

They reached out to one another and embraced in that typical fashion that men have where they want to show their emotions but want to try to make it look manly. Then realising that nobody was there to see them they stood up and held each other glad that things were back to normal, or as normal as they could get. Both the SEAL and the detective had learnt valuable lessons. The bond of brothers would not easily be broken.

-5-0-

Doctor Harris agreed that Danny could return to desk duty at his next appointment. The greeting he received from his team was one of delight at having him back there. It didn't matter they'd seen him every day the offices just weren't the same without him.

Four weeks of no Danny rants was disconcerting, though they'd all be happy to never hear another major argument between the two brothers. Of course they'd argue as that's what siblings do but hopefully it would never get so out of hand again.

The first few days back Danny was extremely tired by the end of the day and Steve began to wonder about the wisdom of him working full days. A glare from Danny when he mentioned it prevented the SEAL from expressing that thought again. Towards the end of the week he was getting back into the swing of things and starting to contemplate going back to his own apartment.

"Why don't you stay with me another week? I know you haven't experienced any more dizziness but I'd be happier."

Danny couldn't argue with Steve when he'd just admitted that it was more about reassuring himself than it was about how Danny was recovering.

"One more week Steven and then I'm going back to my own place."

"Agreed," Steve grinned.

Neither could have foreseen what would happen to prevent Danny being able to go home on schedule.

-5-0-

The following week 5-0 were particularly busy and because Danny wasn't able to go out in the field the other three members were run ragged. The detective helped as much as he could and put everything that Kono and Chin had taught him on the computer table to good use.

Wednesday dawned sunny with not a cloud in the sky, so a typical Hawaiian morning as far as Danny was concerned.

"I need to go into HPD and meet with Captain Akuna. I'll drop you off at the Palace first," Steve told Danny as they ate breakfast.

"I'll come to HPD with you. I'd like to see if any of the officers that made the arrests of my four attackers are in." Steve looked at him appraisingly, clearly trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. "What? What's with the look Steven? I'm not going out into the field, merely dropping by HPD to chat to some fellow officers."

"Just, no over doing it OK?"

"What do you think I'm gonna be doing? I shall find out if the officers are there and then sitting down for a nice chat with 'em. I'm not going to be running all over Oahu to find them!"

Steve remembered that he wasn't supposed to be overprotective of his partner, though it was kind of a natural state for the SEAL when it came to any member of his ohana, "Alright, let's clear up and go. I don't want to be late otherwise Captain Akuna will think I'm trying to prove a point!"

The two men knew that relations between 5-0 and HPD were still a little difficult at times and Steve was trying his best to rectify the situation. Danny's relationship with them was much better.

Arriving at the HPD building they were greeted by the Captain as he walked through the bull pen, "Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams," they shook hands with the man, "I wasn't expecting you as well Detective."

"Oh no, I'm here to meet with any of the officers involved in arresting the men who, er, assaulted me Sir."

"I believe they're on duty today, not sure if they're in the building at the moment. Officers Kale and Kealoha are in though as they're on booking duty today so if you speak to them they'll be happy to help you."

"Thank you Sir," Danny said as he turned in the direction of the booking and custody area.

"Oh and Detective, it's good to see you back," the Captain smiled as he saw the shocked look briefly pass over Danny's face.

"Thanks Sir, it's good to be back," replied Danny, returning the smile. Well that was certainly something he hadn't expected, when he'd worked in HPD he hadn't exactly seen eye to eye with the Captain. Shrugging it off he went in search of Ani and Kai as Steve followed the Captain to his office.

"Hey Ani," Danny greeted the young female officer as he entered the booking area.

"Danny! Good to see you. How are you?"

"You only saw me a few days ago Ani but I'm good thanks. I'll hopefully be able to return to full field duty next week, not to mention my own apartment!"

"That's great! What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to speak to those officers you mentioned that arrested those four morons. Steve's got a meeting with the Captain so now seemed as good a time as any for a visit."

"They're all out on patrol at the moment but they'll appreciate the fact you stopped by, I'll make sure I let them know."

"I'll be about for a while, maybe they'll be back in at some point. In the meantime where's Kai?"

"He's back in the cells, one of our 'guests' wasn't feeling too good, doctor checked him over and said he's fine but Kai's checking on him."

"Of course he's not feeling too good, he got himself arrested! What's the charge?"

"Domestic violence."

Immediately Danny bristled. One of the things that most cops hated was anything relating to domestic violence. The victims, male and female, were usually in an untenable situation. If they try to leave their partner threatens to kill them, stay and they may well end up doing that anyway. Then there were those that thought they deserved it, their self-esteem so low they didn't expect to be treated any better than a punching bag.

"Hey Danny," Kai appeared out of the area that housed the cells.

"Kai. How goes it?"

"OK."

"How's Jackson?" asked Ani.

"Whining that his stomach hurts," Kai rolled his eyes, "Keeps telling me that he's dying. I pointed out that a medical professional has assessed him and found nothing wrong, but he's not having it."

"If he keeps it up we'll have to get him checked again," Ani sighed. It was a waste of the doctor's time but they couldn't take any chances.

"Seriously Danny, this guy is huge and he's whining like a five year old! He's like six and a half foot tall, weighs about a hundred pounds. His wife, the woman he was beating on when the unit got to the disturbance call is five foot if that and weighs about half that."

"Where is she now?" asks Danny, feeling sick at the thought that this guy was beating on his wife.

"Queens. Fractured jaw which has had to be wired shut."

"She pressing charges?"

"Nope, but it doesn't matter because he took a swing at the arresting officers, broke the nose of one of 'em. This is arrest and charge number three."

"Let's hope that she's not one of those who will wait till he gets out."

"Well this is the worst he's assaulted her yet, maybe it'll be the wakeup call she needs."

"I hope so otherwise she'll end up in a body bag," said Ani sadly. Despite the fact she'd only been on the force a few years she'd already seen her share of domestic violence cases that had ended in death.

Just then a couple of officers brought in a woman to be booked and Ani was busy dealing with them when Jackson started to kick off again.

"Here we go again," sighed Kai as he entered the cell area.

Danny curious to see what the guy's problem was followed and watched Kai approach the cell. There were other prisoners but this man had been placed in a cell on his own. Danny wasn't sure if that was because he was a violent offender or because he was saying he was ill.

"What is it now Jackson?" demanded Kai.

"My stomach hurts man; you gotta get me some help!"

"Once again, you've already been seen by the doctor and he says he can't find anything wrong with you! Quit whining!"

"This is police brutality!"

"Hardly. You've been seen and deemed fit to be detained so can it!" Kai turned around and walked towards Danny rolling his eyes. The two men started to walk out when they heard a thud, turning round Jackson was on the floor.

"Damn it!" Kai hurried back to the cell, Danny close on his heels.

"Careful Kai, it could well be a ruse," it wouldn't be the first time a prisoner had pulled a stunt to try and get out of holding.

Nodding Kai opened the cell door and warily stepped into the cell, Danny stood close by as support, if Steve had seen he would have thrown a fit, this wasn't his idea of his brother taking it easy. Neither man had a weapon since they weren't allowed in the holding area for obvious reasons but Danny was near the panic button if things went wrong.

In Danny's life things had a tendency to go very wrong very quickly. There were no half measures and he was about to find out that this wasn't going to be any different. Kai reached Jackson and went to lean down, the man jumped up, quicker than he should have been able to for a man his size in Danny's opinion and punched Kai in the face knocking him to the ground out cold.

The moment the man moved Danny hit the panic button, the alarm sounding loud and clear throughout the building, and tried to slam the cell door in the guy's face, hoping to stun him, but he hadn't been quick enough. Jackson shoved his way out and yanked Danny by his right arm, not just grabbed but yanked. He pulled it and rotated it round behind Danny's back, the pop as his shoulder dislocated was audible even over the other prisoner's cheers and the alarm.

Biting back the pain and fighting off the blackness at the edge of his vision it caused Danny had one thought, _'Steve is _not_ going to be pleased!'_

Jackson pulled Danny against his chest and breathed into his ear, "You're my ticket outta here!"

"Hate to break it to you," replied Danny through gritted teeth, "You're in a building full of cops, you aren't going anywhere!"

"If they don't let me go I'll snap your neck!"

"Then you'll go to jail for a murder of a cop. Of course that's if you even make it that far. They don't really like cop killers in this building," Danny was letting the adrenaline push the pain back. He was beginning to think he knew what this guy's problem was, apart from being a jackass. The guy was packing drugs and if he was right they were leaking into his system. Nobody would have thought of it because the guy had no priors for drug trafficking. In all likelihood he was supposed be going to one of the other islands where he'd handover the drugs and get his money, unfortunately for him he'd ended up here instead. Danny recalled Kai saying that he'd broken an officer's nose, which meant an altercation, so perhaps he'd taken a punch to the abdomen which had burst one of the bags. This was bad.

"Shut up!" hissed Jackson.

"I think you're in more trouble than you can understand right now man. If you're a drug mule, like I suspect, then I think one of the bags has burst. If you don't get treatment you're going to die!"

"I said shut up!" Jackson pulled on Danny's injured arm, eliciting a groan of pain.

"You my friend are in so much trouble right now," Danny knew he should shut up but he just couldn't, "Not only are there cops in this building but there's a Navy SEAL and when he finds out that you've taken me hostage… Let's just say that you're in a world of trouble!"

An arm came up over his throat and squeezed, cutting off a good portion of his air supply, "Quiet or I'm gonna shut you up!"

-5-0-

Steve was actually having a good meeting with Captain Akuna. They were going over the cases that 5-0 and HPD had co-operated on in the last month and looking at ways to improve any interactions. When the alarm sounded both men quickly jumped to their feet, though Steve was unfamiliar with what it was actually for.

"The panic button in the holding cells," the Captain answered the unasked question. The two men hurried from the office and down to the booking area where Ani was trying to establish what was going on without entering the cell area via the security feed.

"Officer Kale, report!" barked the Captain.

"Officer Kealoha was checking on a prisoner who had been complaining of abdominal pains, he'd been checked out by the doctor who said there was nothing wrong, looking at the security footage he pretended to collapse, when Kai entered the cell he attacked him and knocked him out."

"What the hell was he thinking; he shouldn't have gone into the cell to check on a prisoner without another officer with him.

"He did have another officer with him Sir," Ani looked uncomfortably at Steve who didn't miss the look. He felt his heart plummet into his combat boots, "Detective Williams was in there with him; he hit the panic button but he was grabbed before he could do anything," she then proceeded to fill them in on the background of their hostage taker.

"Show me the footage," demanded Steve.

Ani looked to the Captain who nodded. On one screen she pulled up the footage that had been recorded at the moment of the attack. They all heard the sickening pop of Danny's shoulder.

"Get SWAT here," ordered Captain Akuna turning to one of the other officers that had responded to the alarm.

Steve pulled out his cell, "Chin, you and Kono get over to HPD right now. Danny's been taken hostage in the holding cells. No, I'm not kidding. Yeah, if the man who's got him doesn't kill him I damn well will!"

"Commander?"

"We work together to get Danny and Officer Kealoha out of there Captain but the rest of my team has a right to be here."

"Agreed," they watched the live feed as Danny clearly aggravated the man and he wrenched his injured arm again.

Steve heard the groan and his fists clenched at his sides. _'Danny, please, for once, keep your mouth shut!' begged Steve silently._

"We need to make contact, get the other prisoners out of there," Steve stated.

"I'll get officers round to the fire exit and we can remove them that way," the Captain turned to give the order. The fire exit was at the opposite end of the cell area and it would mean that no officers had to pass by the cell where Jackson was holding Danny and Kai.

"I'm going to go in and try to talk to him," said Steve looking at the Captain, daring him to disagree.

"Very well Commander. Just don't do anything… rash."

"No Sir," Steve entered the area, gun still holstered but he was ready to use it if he got the chance.

Jackson spotted him and held Danny firmly as a shield, of course it wasn't as effective as he would have liked since the detective was a foot shorter so he ducked down to ensure he was fully shielded and kept Danny between him and this new threat.

"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett."

"I want to get out of here."

Steve shot Danny a look, "This is _not_ what I meant when I told you not to overdo it!"

Danny would have shrugged if he wasn't pinned so effectively, which was probably a good thing since shrugging would only have aggravated his shoulder, "You know me, I like to be in the thick of things!"

"Uh huh," Steve rolled his eyes, "How about you just be quiet for once and let me do the talking?"

"But I'm so much better at it than you. Jackson and I have become quite close…"

"I can see that, but I don't think he appreciates your style of communication."

"Hey! How about you both shut up! I want to get out of here; I want a car, no tracking device and a plane fuelled and ready to go wherever I say. When I get there I'll release him."

There was a groan from behind them and Jackson stepped back so he could keep the now conscious Kai in sight as well.

"You've been watching too many movies man! The police don't negotiate with hostage takers or _drug mules_," Danny stared at his partner as he said the last two words hoping that Steve got the message. From the look on the SEAL's face he did.

"I'm not in a position to authorise that but if you let us remove the other prisoners and Officer Kealoha then I'll see what I can do."

"You can take out the other prisoners but the Officer stays and if you try any funny business I'll snap his neck," he squeezed his arm at Danny's throat again for emphasis.

"OK," Steve agreed, he waved his hand to signal to the officers at the other end of the area to move in. Once all the other prisoners were gone he spoke again, "I'm going to step out now and see what I can do. I'll be back soon."

Steve stepped back out into the booking area. He didn't want to leave his partner in that cell with that man any longer than necessary but he needed time to come up with a plan.

"Danny thinks that Jackson is carrying drugs," Steve didn't beat around the bush.

"Why would he think that?" asked Kono.

"The abdominal pains and he obviously spotted something else which I noticed when he mentioned drug mule. His pupils are dilated so I think perhaps one of the bags has burst. I know the guys violent and has counts for assault but this seems like overkill because of an assault charge."

"But not if he's carrying potentially thousands of dollars' worth of drugs," Chin said, "He'll have people waiting to retrieve them. Drug runners aren't the kind of people you want to mess with."

"If the drugs are leaking into his system he's going to become more and more volatile," Captain Akuna stated, "We need to get Officer Kealoha and Detective Williams out of there."

There was an underlying tone to the words that Steve had never heard before but he needed to ensure he was getting the correct message, "By any means necessary Captain?"

"Yes Commander. There's going to be no reasoning with a man high on drugs who is essentially cornered. Officer Kale I want EMTs here on standby. Detective Williams and Officer Kealoha are clearly going to need treatment as will Jackson," the Captain ordered. Honestly he didn't expect someone who'd taken a member of 5-0 hostage and injured him to survive but he had to be seen to do the 'right' thing.

"Steve, Danny didn't take any blows to the head did he?" Kono asked. They hadn't seen the footage so she had no idea.

"No Kono, he hasn't and I need to make sure it stays that way," Steve was only too well aware of the consequences if Danny were to be hit on the head again so soon after such a serious head injury. He entered the cell area once more.

"Well?" demanded Jackson.

"It's going to take some time," Steve stared at Danny, communicating with him silently.

"You've got thirty minutes, then I snap this one's neck," he squeezed his arm across Danny's throat again, this time to the point the detective almost lost consciousness.

Danny saw the look in Steve's eyes, he knew Super SEAL mode when he saw it and his gut clenched. Then Jackson choked him again and he was seeing stars. When the pressure released he took gulps of air to ward off the desire to pass out from lack of oxygen. Steve would need his help. Jackson was still sheltering behind him; he could feel him ducking down. Kai wouldn't be able to help them, the poor kid hadn't even managed to sit up and focus yet. Danny sympathised only too well with that feeling.

Deciding the time had come Danny gave Steve a look that told the SEAL to get ready, he then spoke to his captor, "You remember I told you there's a Navy SEAL in the building and you were going to be in a world of trouble…"

"Yeah s…" he was cut off from saying anything else as Danny's left elbow connected with his stomach and he stamped down hard on his foot, the only reason he hadn't made the move as soon as he was grabbed was because he knew he wouldn't have the strength in his left arm to finish this big goon off without the possibility of further injury to himself or Kai, now with his brother there to back him up he could leave the rest to him. The moment the detective's elbow connected Jackson dropped his arm from Danny's neck in surprise, knowing that it was going to hurt but he would only have seconds to get out of the man's reach he threw himself to the side, not only out of Jackson's reach, but out of Steve's line of fire.

The gun shot echoed loudly in the small space and was quickly followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Danny laid on the ground breathing heavily, eyes closed, as the pain from hitting the solid floor hammered through his injured shoulder. He heard multiple footsteps running into the area.

Steve's voice confirmed what he wanted to hear, "He's dead," the moment the bullet had left the gun the SEAL had started moving forward so when the man hit the ground he checked for a pulse. Once satisfied that the moron that had been stupid enough not only to attack an officer in a holding cell but to take his brother hostage was dead he moved to Danny's side, "Danny?"

"How's Kai? Oh and next time you have a meeting with the Captain; you're on your own!" Danny told his partner pushing back the waves of pain assaulting him.

"Ani is taking care of Kai, he's conscious and duly noted," Steve gave a grin, "Did you hit your head when you threw yourself out of the way?" the grin dropped to be replaced by a look of concern.

"No."

The word did nothing to reassure Steve and he started running his hands over Danny's scalp to check for himself.

"I said I didn't hit my head Steven!"

"Humour him Danny," Kono said from his other side, a look of equal concern on her face.

Knowing that it was pointless to argue he stopped trying to push Steve's hands away and let him finish what he was doing, "Satisfied?"

"Hmm. What the hell were you thinking?" Steve demanded.

"Not really the time Steve," interrupted Chin as he brought two sets of EMTs in with him, one for Kai and one for Danny.

"Really Danny?" Jake asked raising an eyebrow, "What happened this time, you didn't hit your head did you?"

"Just a little altercation which led to my shoulder being dislocated. No I didn't hit my head, Steven has already checked for bumps."

"Don't forget about nearly being choked at least twice!" Steve chimed in.

"Oh yes, and that."

Shaking his head in despair Jake set about taking Danny's vitals while Andy hooked him up to some oxygen and inserted an IV.

"This is becoming a really bad habit Danny," Andy told him.

"Yeah, tell me about it!"

"I'll just give you some morphine and then we'll get that arm as comfortable as we can before we transport you."

"OK. How's Kai doing?"

Andy looked over to his colleagues who were just putting a collar on the injured officer before rolling him onto a backboard, "Being taken care of, how about we worry about you?"

"I'm kind of fed up worrying about me!"

"Stop getting hurt then," Jake advised.

"I'll keep that in mind!" Danny rolled his eyes. Come on, it wasn't as if he asked for it. It was like somewhere out there someone had it in for him. Not just Warner but some 'higher power'.

Once the morphine had been administered they carefully strapped Danny's arm to his body to prevent it from moving, not wanting to put it back in place until x-rays had been taken. They then helped him to his feet and with the help of Steve and Andy a swaying, drugged Danny was helped out to the ambulance.

"See you at the hospital boss," Kono told Steve as he climbed into the back of the ambulance.

Chin and Kono stood and watched as it pulled away just minutes behind the ambulance that had taken Kai to hospital with Ani by her partner's side.

"This is getting old Cuz."

"Very," nodded Chin as they turned to get into the SUV to follow Danny to Queens once again.

-5-0-

"Good grief Danny!" exclaimed Henry as he was pushed into the ER, "Do you miss us that much?"

"Er no. No offence Henry but I'd be happy never to see the inside of this place again!"

"Come on let's get you sorted," sighed the doctor, resigned to the fact that he'd be treating him again.

Once he'd assessed him for other injuries and found that apart from the shoulder all he had suffered was a heavily bruised throat he sent him off for x-rays. When they came back it was good news in as much as there was no fracture, it was just a case of popping the shoulder back into the joint.

"Is that all?" grumbled Danny as Henry explained.

"Don't be a baby Danny!" admonished Steve.

"A baby? Really Super SEAL, I've got a dislocated shoulder and you're going with calling me a baby?"

"Poor choice of words?" he asked.

"Oh yeah."

"I'll give you some more morphine, a muscle relaxant and a slight sedative, it'll be over before you know it," Henry assured him.

"Then can I go home?"

"Once you've had a repeat x-ray to confirm everything is where it should be, yes."

"Good."

"What about recovery Henry?" Steve asked.

"The arm will need to stay in a sling for a few days until the swelling has gone down, then you'll need to see one of our physical therapists to give you a programme to rehabilitate the shoulder."

Danny sighed knowing he wasn't going to like the answer, "How long before I'm fully recovered?

"Barring any complications? About eight weeks."

"Another eight weeks of desk duty," Danny dropped his head to his chest in frustration.

"Actually, you shouldn't work at all for the rest of this week. You can start back to work Monday on desk duty," instructed Henry.

"Great."

"You do realise this also means the time line for going back to your apartment has changed slightly too, right?" Steve looked at his brother who just groaned, "I know it's frustrating man, but you won't be able to do a lot of things on your own since it's your right arm. As soon as the physical therapist says you've got enough range of motion you can go home."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"OK, you have a deal," there was no sense in going back to his own apartment just to struggle with simple things. Once again it looked like he was going to have to rely on his ohana. He didn't like it but he would accept it. He loved them after all and would do the same if the situation was reversed.

-5-0-

**A/N: I don't know anything about lay outs of cells at police stations abroad or in the UK! I also don't know how the US legal system works in relation to domestic violence. The UK now has a no tolerance policy which means even if a victim doesn't want to report it if there is evidence then the police can arrest the abuser but as I wasn't sure I figured punching a police officer would get the guy arrested! lol**


	26. Z is for Zoothapsis

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own H5-0 or the characters. I should be that lucky.**

**A/N: Yes, I know, I suck! I didn't respond to the reviews for the last chapter and I've taken WEEKS to put this up. I am so very sorry for letting you down. The procedure I had in February took longer to recover from than I expected, I had a friend staying for a week and I've found a new job. There wasn't a whole lot of time for writing.**

**That said, when I did get the time to write this chapter just grew and grew. I wanted to give you quality as well as quantity. There's certainly a lot here and though I debated about splitting it I decided to leave it as one very long chapter. I hope that this final chapter in the A to Z doesn't disappoint.**

**Z is for Zoothapsis **

The four members of 5-0 were on their way to the house of a suspect who had allegedly tried to fill in the gap left in the arms trade when Shane Warner had disappeared. Despite months of searching and false leads the team had been unable to locate Warner and Danny had given up living his life wondering when the man was going to reappear and try, once again, to finish him off.

The man they were about to visit had been low down in Warner's gang of dealers but had somehow managed to escape their raid on Warner's warehouse and then stay below the radar until recently. There was a slim hope that the man might also have an idea where his old boss had vanished to.

"Kono, Chin, go round the back," Steve instructed as they met up just down the road from their suspect's house, "Danny and I'll take the front."

Nodding, the cousins disappeared behind the row of single storey houses and radioed their teammates once they were in place. Steve led the way towards the house and Danny fell into step just to the side of him and slightly behind. The detective would never know if that was why he was the only one to regain consciousness quickly after the house they were approaching exploded.

-5-0-

Danny hadn't been out more than a few seconds and that was probably more from the shock of the impact of his body hitting the ground. It took a few more seconds for him to register what had happened; when he did he quickly pulled out his cell and called for backup, ambulances and fire department. Once that was done he crawled to Steve's side and checked his brother's pulse, holding his breath as he did. He let it out with a whoosh as he felt the strong beat beneath his fingers. Steve had a gash on his forehead but nothing worse. Trying the radio Danny called for Chin and Kono but got no response. He cursed before turning back to Steve, he didn't want to leave him lying there, vulnerable, but the cousins could be badly hurt.

Staggering to his less than steady feet he glanced one last time at Steve before going round to the back of the house, giving the building, which was burning hot, a wide berth. As he rounded the corner he saw both Kono and Chin lying prone on the ground and not moving. His heart shifted from his chest into his throat as he forced his wobbly legs to move faster. Dropping between them he pressed his fingers to their necks searching for a sign that they were both still with him. Another whoosh of air escaped at the relief of feeling both of their hearts were still beating strong.

Having established they were alive he started to look for injuries. Kono had a piece of debris embedded in her upper left arm but it didn't look too bad, though if she was conscious he was sure it would be painful. Chin was lying on his front and the back of his hair was shiny with blood. Danny quickly parted the hair and saw the cut that was causing the bleeding, it wasn't deep and it just followed the standard rule that head wounds bleed like a bitch.

Resting back on his haunches Danny breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, this visit to a suspect's house had gone to hell in a hand basket and they'd need to figure out the how and why, but his ohana were alive and, although injured, would be fine with a little bit of care which he would be happy to provide.

The detective could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance and knew he needed to get back to the front of the house so he could direct the EMTs to his friends. Pushing to his feet he started to make his way passed the still burning house, the smoke making his eyes water. Perhaps that's why he didn't see the man as he came up behind him, in fact he had no clue there was anyone else there until a hand came round and a cloth was pressed over his mouth. Danny fought for all he was worth knowing that the cloth had chloroform on it from the smell. He held his breath as he struggled but a well-placed elbow to his side caused an involuntary intake of air and before he could do anything else he was out cold and under the cover of the chaos, smoke and flames Detective Danny Williams vanished.

-5-0-

Officers Kai Kealoha and Ani Kale were first to arrive on the scene. They exchanged concerned glances when there was no sign of Danny but hurried to the side of the prone form lying in front of the house. Steve was just starting to come round, groaning as he did.

"Ani, stay here with Steve, I'm going to check round the back," Kai instructed his partner before disappearing, hoping that perhaps Danny was round there as well.

Kai was disappointed to see only Chin and Kono. The older detective was sitting up with his hand on the back of his head with the other resting on his cousin's shoulder trying to keep her from moving.

"EMTs are on the way," Kai informed them as he helped Kono sit up, seeing that there was no way she would stay down.

"Where are Steve and Danny?" asked Chin.

"Steve's out the front, he has a gash on his forehead but looked fine apart from that. He was just coming round as we arrived, Ani's with him."

"Danny?" prompted Kono as she realised that Kai was trying to avoid answering.

"He's not here, but he called for backup so I'm sure he's around somewhere."

The EMT's arrived; once again it was Jake and Andy. They quickly assessed their patients and then gathered the three at the front of the still burning house which the fire department were now trying to deal with.

"Alright, Steve you're lucky. No concussion and the cut doesn't need stitching," said Jake as he put a few butterfly strips over the wound.

"Chin you have a mild concussion and will need to have a few stitches," advised Andy, "Kono you'll need to come to the hospital and get that piece of wood removed and stitches as well."

Steve was relieved that his two team members hadn't been badly injured but he was worried about Danny. He'd been calling him on the radio for the last ten minutes but there had been no response. Kai had arranged a search of the nearby area in case Danny had actually been hurt and collapsed somewhere.

Chin and Kono protested going to the hospital, but Steve ordered them into the ambulance and told them he'd let them know when he had news on Danny so they reluctantly climbed in with Jake.

Steve stood and surveyed the area looking for any signs of his partner. Kai had already told him that nothing had been found nearby but there was something bothering the SEAL about this whole situation, other than the fact that his partner was MIA.

"Steve, I found something," Kai stood next to the man he had come to respect and admire.

"What?" asked Steve, a little distracted.

"This," Kai held up a cloth that he'd slipped into an evidence bag and a cell in another, "The cloths got chloroform on it and its Danny's cell."

"Get it to the lab. Tell them to test for any DNA and fingerprints. Put out a BOLO on Danny."

"You got it," Kai turned away and quickly spoke to Ani. She jumped into their unit and drove away with the evidence, lights and sirens sounding. Technically this wasn't an emergency but time was of the essence. They didn't have any proof that the chloroform soaked cloth was linked to Danny's vanishing act, but none of them believed in coincidences. Kai issued the BOLO hoping that they'd get a hit quickly.

Once the scene had been cleared and no further signs of Danny had been found Steve got into the Camaro and headed for Queens. He needed to see how Chin and Kono were doing and then he could concentrate on finding his brother.

-5-0-

Danny woke up with a headache that rivalled any hangover that he'd ever had. Groaning and keeping his eyes closed so as not to incur more pain from any light he tried to lift his hands to his head in the hope he could massage the pain away, that's when he discovered that he couldn't move.

'_What the hell?'_ he thought as he tried desperately to move his hands and legs he realised it wasn't possible, opening his eyes he found he couldn't see anything either. Moving his head to see if he could find even a sliver of light he felt material moving and that's when it dawned on him he was blindfolded.

"Detective Williams, as much as it amuses me to watch you struggle against your bonds I really must insist that you stop before you hurt yourself," a deep voice nearby stated.

"Seriously? I'm strapped down and you're worried about me hurting myself?" Danny asked incredulously, "'Cos I would think if you were worried about that you wouldn't have me strapped down in the first place, in fact I wouldn't be here with you at all!" The moment the voice had sounded Danny recalled the hand coming round and using chloroform to knock him out. At least that explained the headache.

"Of course I'm worried; I don't get paid if the merchandise should arrive damaged."

"Merchandise?" spluttered Danny, "I am _not_ merchandise I am a Detective with the Governor's taskforce and a human being!"

"That may be but you're also worth quite a bit of money. Now you're just going to feel a sharp scratch and the next time you wake up you'll be with the person who has wanted to get their hands on you for some time."

"What…?" Danny couldn't finish the sentence as the sharp scratch of a needle piercing his skin was followed by the overwhelming desire to sleep.

"Let's get him loaded," instructed the man.

Danny was untied, the blindfold removed, and the doors to the unmarked van opened revealing a parking lot at a marina. He was then lifted into a wheelchair, a blanket thrown over his lap as one of the men pushed the chair along the jetty to one of the yachts moored there. The chair easily made it up the smooth gangplank and then once out of sight of any potential onlookers Danny was hoisted over the man's shoulder and carried into one of the staterooms and unceremoniously dumped on the bed there and his hands and feet were tied once again.

-5-0-

Steve arrived at Queens to be greeted by Doctor Jensen who quickly showed him through to a room where both Chin and Kono were being seen.

"Chin has a mild concussion and I've stitched up the wound on the back of his head. Kono had a piece of wood embedded in her arm which I've removed. The wound has been cleaned and stitched. Both of them should rest for the next twenty four hours," Henry told Steve has he walked him through the ER.

"Danny's missing; I don't think they're going to want to rest Henry."

"Missing?"

"Yeah, we all went to a suspect's house, the house blew up and when we came round Danny was gone. HPD found a cloth with chloroform on it."

"Damn. I'm sorry Steve."

"Any news Boss?" asked Kono the moment he entered the room.

"No. Henry says you two need to rest for twenty four hours."

"That's not gonna happen brah!"

"No way!"

Steve looked at Henry and shrugged. He wanted what was best for all his team but he knew that he would still want to help in the search for their lost team mate even if a doctor told him to rest.

"Alright, fine, but you have to promise that if you experience any dizziness or problems with your vision or nausea you'll come back in Chin. Kono, if you start running a temperature you need to come back and don't do anything that will pull those stitches," Henry knew this team and there was no point arguing with them. The two injured members of 5-0 agreed and then signed themselves out.

"We'll go back to the Palace…" Steve was interrupted by his cell ringing, "McGarrett."

"_Steve, we've had a hit on the BOLO,"_ _Kai's voice told him._

"What? Where?"

"_La Mariana Sailing Club, about an hour ago. Ani and I are near there and we'll go and speak to the witness."_

"OK, we're on our way," Steve closed his cell and hurried in the direction of the Camaro, Kono and Chin following him, he filled them in as they went.

They arrived at the marina within five minutes, half the time that it should have taken but with Steve driving and Danny missing nobody was surprised.

"What have you got Kai?" he asked as he got out of the Camaro and saw the police officer approaching.

"One of the security guards that patrols the parking lot saw some men pull in driving that black van," he pointed, "He didn't think much of it and carried on but when he glanced back he noticed that they had just put a man in a wheelchair and were pushing him towards one of the moored yachts."

"How does he know it was Danny?"

"He wasn't particularly close but did say that the man in the chair was blonde but what really caught his attention was the dress shirt and tie."

"I never thought I'd be grateful that Danny still wears his tie occasionally! Did he see which yacht they took him to?" Chin asked.

"Yes, she was called Moana 'Anela. She set sail not long afterwards. I've already contacted the Coastguard and CSU."

"Good work Kai, thanks."

"Do you think they're taking him to one of the other islands?" Kono asked Steve as they walked back to the Camaro. There was nothing else they could do at the marina.

"No, it doesn't feel right," Steve's instincts were telling him that they were perhaps supposed to believe that Danny had been taken somewhere other than Oahu so that they'd waste time searching other islands for him.

Getting behind the wheel he pulled out his cell and made a call to the one person he knew that might be able to help him find the Moana 'Anela somewhere in the Pacific ocean. Putting the cell on speaker he quickly pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the Palace.

"I hope you're calling to arrange for that dinner you owe me McGarrett!"

"Cath, Danny's missing, I need your help."

Immediately Catherine Rollins demeanour changed, she could hear the edge to Steve's voice, "What do you need?"

"A yacht called Moana 'Anela left the La Mariana Sailing Club pier about ninety minutes ago, can you pull up satellite imaging from that time and track it for me?"

"Absolutely," she didn't care if it could potentially get her court martialled. She had met Danny and she couldn't help but love the guy, not in the same way she loved Steve but the New Jersey man just somehow managed to find his way into her heart. Maybe it was because of what he did for Steve. The detective had managed to pull the SEAL out of his vendetta with Wo Fat long enough to give him a family, something he desperately needed, even if he would never admit it. "I'll send anything I find to your email."

"Thanks Cath."

"You'll find him Steve," she replied with all the confidence she could muster. She couldn't be there to support her man right now and she was finding that hard, "Call me if you need anything else and definitely call me when you find him!"

"I will, bye Cath," he hung up allowing himself a small smile at the concern he had heard in her voice. He knew it wasn't just for him but for the man that had managed to get under all their skins since Steve had returned to Oahu.

-5-0-

Danny was transferred from the yacht to another boat in the middle of the ocean far away from prying eyes. He didn't even realise as he was still in a sedated sleep. Cash exchanged hands and the yacht headed for the horizon in the direction of one of the other islands. The other slightly smaller boat went in a different direction, back towards Oahu.

The men on board brought the boat into a tiny private cove on the North Shore and removed their captive and placed him in the back of a four by four. Two of the men climbed in the front and drove off; the other two returned to the boat and sailed back out into the ocean.

Danny came round to find himself no longer wearing a blindfold but now tied to a chair. There were a few new things about his current situation, the location being one; the second was that he was dressed in nothing but his boxers. The temperature outside might be in the seventies but in this room it was chilly. The room was brick with no windows and a concrete floor which was cold underneath his bare feet. There was a metal door which he was facing.

Sounds came from outside the door and just a few moments later it swung open revealing the bane of his life.

"Warner!"

"Ah, Detective Williams, so good to know that you remember me!"

"How did you get back on to the island without 5-0 finding out?"

"Well Danny, I can call you Danny right," the smile he gave was feral, "I can't reveal such secrets under normal circumstances, but since you're not going to survive this little encounter I suppose I could take pity on you. I paid the right people the right amount of money and they smuggled me on to Oahu and set me up in this wonderful remote location. Simple really."

"There is nowhere on Oahu that is safe for you right now, you know that right? McGarrett will come after your sorry ass and then I'll take great pleasure in watching as he dumps you in the ocean with the sharks!"

"As far as Commander McGarrett is concerned you left the island on a yacht. He won't even know you're still on Oahu."

"You underestimate him, my team and me!"

"I don't think I've underestimated you, but I have a few ways to put that theory to the test."

Danny really didn't like the sound of that. The glee in his voice combined with the manic look on his face all spelled pain as far as the detective was concerned but he couldn't and wouldn't let the other man see any fear, "Bring it on!"

Shane clicked his fingers and one of the men walked over behind Danny cutting the ropes around his wrists and ankles, the moment he was free he did the only thing he could and fought back. Unfortunately the combination of the chloroform and sedative made him less than stable on his feet and it didn't take the man long to bring him under control.

"Oh Danny, such a futile waste of effort my friend."

"I'm no friend of yours!" panted Danny.

"That we can agree on! Bring him!" instructed Shane to the man who had Danny's arms pinned, "If he struggles further then feel free to subdue him!"

It wasn't in Danny's nature to just roll over and let someone do what they wanted with him so naturally he struggled; the result was the butt of a gun to his temple which left him out cold with a gash that had blood running down his face. The man picked him up and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and there wasn't a thing Danny could do about it.

The next time he returned to consciousness he found his arms stretched above his head and held in metal restraints that hung on a chain from the ceiling. The pain already in his wrists and shoulders was enough to cause him to try to find his feet, despite the headache and nausea he was now suffering following the blow to his temple. Danny discovered that he couldn't put his feet flat on the floor, the best he could manage was standing on the balls of his feet but that did at least help to alleviate some of the strain on his wrists.

The room that he was in was different. There were steel beams running overhead, which was what the chain he was hanging from was attached to. The walls were still brick and the floor concrete. Using his feet he turned slightly so he could see what was behind him. There was another solid looking metal door, which he was sure even if he could get out of his chains was probably locked, but what really caught his eye was a small table to the left of the door. There wasn't much on it, a car battery and a couple of other items that he'd never seen before. Next to the table was a bucket which sat directly under a tap that came out of the wall. Danny had a feeling that at some point in the future he was going to be getting wet.

Footsteps sounded outside and the heavy metal door swung open to reveal Shane Warner with two of his heavies. Danny didn't like the look on any of their faces.

"Oh good you're awake. You must forgive Darren," he indicated the tall thick set African American to his right, "But he does take pleasure in his job. I see you've been looking at our table."

"Well the room lacks anything else to look at," Danny rolled his eyes but no longer able to maintain his position facing the door he allowed his body to turn back the way he was facing when he first woke up.

"I don't think that will be of much concern to you shortly," there was a definite note of glee in the tone, "Let me tell you about the car battery. You see I have this new toy to try out, it's called a picana. Do you know what that is Danny?"

"Can't say I've ever heard of it," replied Danny. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know what it was either.

"I guess you would compare it to a cattle prod…"

'_Yup, definitely could have gone my whole life without knowing about a picana then!'_

"It connects up to the car battery and there's a control connected that can raise or reduce the voltage. The wonderful thing about this little device is that it delivers a high voltage but low current electrical shock. Basically it hurts but won't kill you. Shall we demonstrate?"

"No, that's OK thanks."

"It really was a rhetorical question," Shane told his captive, "Darren…"

Danny couldn't see what was going on but he could hear the noises of something being taken from the table. He couldn't decide if it was better to see them as they approached or not. At least if he could see it then he might be able to prepare himself a little… A yell was pulled from him involuntarily as the device touched his back. His eyes automatically slamming shut.

There was the sound of movement and when Danny opened his eyes Warner was standing in front of him. The man's eyes were full of malice and he wore the most evil grin that Danny thought he'd ever seen as he slowly moved the picana towards the detective's abdomen. He forced his eyes to remain open, staring at Warner and bit his bottom lip to stop the yell that wanted to escape as the torture device touched his skin again. There was no way he was going to give his tormentor the satisfaction of hearing him shout.

Warner wasn't too thrilled that his nemesis wasn't cooperating so he touched the picana all over Danny's torso half a dozen times in quick succession, barely giving the man time to breathe in between. Still he didn't cry out.

"Water," barked Warner to his men.

Danny heard the water running and then the movement as it was carried over to where he was chained. He held his breath knowing what was coming; he wasn't disappointed. A full bucket of ice cold water was dumped over his head causing him to gasp at the chill.

"Just a little something to make it more uncomfortable for you."

"Fuck you!" snarled Danny.

Warner growled and proceeded to touch the picana all over Danny's body. His body jerked with each shock but he refused to cry out, drawing blood as he bit down on his bottom lip to prevent it.

"That was only the start," Warner advised Danny as he handed the picana back to Darren, "Your team won't be able to find you so I can keep this up as long as I see fit and then I will kill you and I promise it will be a slow painful death."

"They will… find me," Danny said breathlessly, "Then they'll… kill… you!"

"How refreshing to see a member of law enforcement have such trust in his colleagues," Warner responded sarcastically, "They won't find you. They're going to think that you've been taken off Oahu and they won't know where to. They'll waste precious hours searching the other islands."

If Warner thought he was going to convince Danny that the team wouldn't find him then he was sadly mistaken. The only question in Danny's mind was if they'd find him in time.

"They'll find you… and kill you!"

"Well as much as I've enjoyed this little chat it's time for dinner. I'll leave you to, er, rest but I will be back later to continue our session."

The sound of the door closing meant that finally Danny could drop the façade. His whole body felt like it was on fire where the picana had touched. The torture session had left him in pain and tired but there would be no rest for him given he was still strung up. If it was dinner time then he'd already been missing all day and it would be getting dark soon or it was already dark, with no windows he couldn't be sure. They couldn't search for him in the dark.

'_Come on Super SEAL I know you can find me.'_

-5-0-

Steve, Chin and Kono arrived back at the Palace to footage supplied by Cath. Chin put it up on one of the plasmas and they watched as the Moana 'Anela met with a smaller boat and the limp body of Danny was transferred.

The SEAL growled. Chin placed a comforting arm round his cousin's shoulders as he heard her gasp.

"There's another file here," Chin stated before putting that up on the plasma. Cath had managed to track the smaller unmarked vessel until it disappeared under some overhanging trees. The image zoomed out again so that they could see where the boat had gone in relation to the rest of the area. It wasn't until the image settled that Steve's suspicion was confirmed, Danny had been brought back to Oahu.

"Where do we start looking?" asked Kono.

"We've got the longitude and latitude provided by the satellite so we take some HPD and start our search there."

"The highway runs along that stretch so the cove must be well hidden. It's not likely anyone witnessed where they went."

"We're going to need help to search the area."

"I'll call HPD," Steve pulled out his cell and put in the necessary call. When he'd finished he turned to Chin and Kono, "We're going to meet HPD at Pupukea in ninety minutes so let's grab our gear and go."

Just under ninety minutes later they were waiting at Pupukea Beach Park for HPD. The Captain had told Steve he could spare four people and would provide a boat to take them to the location of the cove and they could search from there. The radios the search team would carry were linked into HPD HQ so if further manpower was needed it could be sent, but only if the teams were successful in finding evidence as to where Danny was being kept.

A car pulled into a space near the Camaro and four people he recognised exited the vehicle. The driver popped the trunk and each of them grabbed a large back pack before the car was locked up and the four approached the three members of 5-0. Kai Kealoha, Ani Kale, Troy Davis and James Wong all greeted Steve, Chin and Kono. All four had worked with Danny and respected the man so had volunteered to be the four to go on the search when the Captain had put out the request.

The team of seven walked to where an HPD boat was waiting for them and climbed aboard, within twenty minutes they were standing in a hidden cove. If they hadn't known the coordinates they would have missed it. There was clear evidence that a four by four had been there recently, they followed the tracks until they met with the Kamehameha Highway.

"What now? We've got no clue which direction they went in!" exclaimed Kono.

Steve's eyes squinted as he inspected the trees opposite them, "Wait here," he ordered. Pausing to wait for a gap in the traffic he ran across to the other side and walked down the road slightly. Smiling when he found what he was looking for. Turning towards the six people waiting patiently he waved them over and pointed at the tire treads showing in the dirt.

"How do you know it's the same vehicle?" asked Ani. There must be a lot of four by fours on Oahu.

"See here," Steve knelt down and pointed out a void in the pattern, "That is exactly the same void as in the tire treads we saw at the cove."

"We need a vehicle," Chin mused. They hadn't really expected to find that Danny had been carted off in another vehicle, the thought being that he was being taken to a house that was hidden by the trees in the same way the cove was. Chin pulled out his cell and made a quick call, once he'd finished he turned to the group, "Two four by fours will be here in fifteen minutes."

"Cousin?" asked Steve a small grin on his face.

"Yup!" supplied Chin, returning the grin. Both men soon remembered why they were there and became serious again. The promised four by fours arrived and Steve expressed his thanks to Chin's cousin who dismissed it.

"I owe Chin. I allowed the family to sway my decision when he was dismissed from HPD and I didn't speak to him. Something I regret now."

"Its old news brah," Chin assured his cousin. They embraced before the team climbed into the vehicles and followed the track which ran along the edge of some fields. Over an hour later they came to a stop at a line of trees.

"Where now?"

Steve got out and inspected the area carefully, Chin close by his side. When they reached the tree line each man went a different way looking for signs of disturbances.

"Looks like they entered the trees here," Chin indicated an area where there was broken foliage and several footprints.

"Where's the four by four?" asked Kono looking around, "Could they have left the track earlier than this?"

"No, there was nowhere for them to leave the track, ditches on both sides. Plus we stopped several times to check the track and the tire treads carried on," reminded Steve.

"Over here!" called out Kai.

The three team mates hurried over to where he was calling from and found him uncovering a black SUV. Whoever had hidden it had used a camouflage tarp and then some of the branches to disguise it, though it hadn't fooled Kai's sharp eyes for long.

"Radio HQ and get a team out here to process and tow it," ordered Steve.

"How did you find it?" asked Ani stunned that her partner had seen it, "There's no tracks leading over here."

"No but there are signs that someone tried to hide the tracks," Kai pointed to a long branch with lots of leaves and the marks on the ground that would indicate someone had tried to remove any signs that the SUV was there.

"Why though? The tracks are clear up to this point. Whoever took Danny has done their best to convince us that he's not even on Oahu."

"It's probably just a precaution," replied Kono, "The SUV is the only way they have out of here so they hide it and disguise where it's gone. Anyone who might stumble across the tire tracks might just assume they'd turned round and headed back to the highway."

"Alright, Troy, James, I want you two to stay here with the SUV, once the team have been out to remove it then stay here. I need someone here in case the owners of it come back and I don't want them trying to take one of ours!"

Both nodded as the others removed their back packs from the vehicles. Once the rest disappeared into the trees the two men moved the two four by fours and hid them in much the same way then settled in to keep watch.

Steve and Chin led the other three into the trees, the going was slow as they had to look for signs of which way their quarry had travelled.

"They can't have taken him far," stated Ani.

"That depends on whether he was conscious or not," replied Kai. When he received a quizzical look from his partner he elaborated, "A conscious Danny would cause them problems so they wouldn't be able to go far. An unconscious Danny wouldn't be any issue and they could find a way to carry him to their destination if they had to."

"I think Danny was probably unconscious," supplied Chin.

"Why?" asked Ani. This was the first time she'd really been out with the team and she was intrigued and she wanted to learn as long as it wasn't delaying them.

"Danny is vertically challenged," stated Steve with a little bit of a smile. If the man was here no way would he have got away with that comment, "The footprints we're seeing are a similar size to mine, because of Danny's height his feet are smaller."

"Meaning Danny couldn't have been walking," Ani nodded her understanding.

"Correct. If you look at the prints they're slightly different and one set are deeper than the other…" Chin carried on.

"So that person was likely carrying something or _someone_ that made their imprints go deeper into the ground because of the extra weight," suddenly Ani could see what Chin was getting at.

"You're catching on," the older detective smiled at her briefly before turning his attention back to the trail they were following.

The group fell into silence as they each thought about what Danny being unconscious and not walking could mean. Either he _was_ actually unconscious or he was too badly injured to walk by himself. Silently the group prayed that it was because the kidnappers had kept him out with chloroform.

"Damn, it's getting too dark to carry on!" exclaimed Steve as he once again missed the direction the people they were following had gone and had to go back, "Even with flashlights we could miss something."

"Then we stay here for the night and carry on again in the morning," Chin stated, not liking the idea any more than Steve. The trail wouldn't be as fresh the next day but there was little choice. Stumbling around in the dark wouldn't do Danny any good.

Steve wanted to hit something he was so frustrated that they hadn't found where Danny was yet. His fists clenched at his side in an effort to_ not_ do anything stupid. Injuring his hand by punching a tree, which were the only things other than the people with him to punch, was not a great idea.

"Alright, let's stop for the night. We start out again at dawn," instructed Steve.

The five men and women all dropped their heads in disappointment that they hadn't found Danny and then silently went about getting ready to get some rest. Hopefully they would be able to move faster tomorrow with more light. Tomorrow they _would_ find Danny.

-5-0-

Danny was beyond exhausted. He didn't have any idea what the time was, all he knew was that it seemed like he'd been hanging in this room for days. Falling asleep was uncomfortable at best, extremely painful at worst. Every time he managed to sleep he was pulled out of it either by the pain being caused in his wrists and shoulders as his full body weight hung from them or by Warner and his goon squad coming in, throwing water over him and torturing him with the picana. He had lost count of the number of times they'd left him only to return an undetermined amount of time later to start again.

The door opened again and Danny bit his now very sore bottom lip as he schooled his features and bit back the pain as he turned to face his tormentor. This time Warner was alone.

"Just thought I'd come and say goodnight Danny and let you know what fun I have planned for when I wake up from my nice long nap on a nice soft bed," grinned Warner, his voice laced with malice.

"Screw you," Danny's voice was raspy from lack of use, water and the effort of holding back the screams that he had fought back every time they stuck him with that electric wand.

"You have no manners! When I return I am going to introduce you to Heretic's fork. It's rather medieval but I like it. I won't tell you what it does just yet, I'll leave it to your imagination. Sleep well Danny!" and with those words the door closed again leaving Danny with nothing but the deafening silence and the sound of his own laboured breathing and racing heart whooshing in his ears.

Danny had never heard of Heretic's fork but he knew he didn't like the sound of it. Given the torture he had endured with the picana he could only imagine it was worse in some way. The fork part of the name had his mind whirling with possibilities, none of them particularly pleasant.

A noise pulled Danny out of a very unsatisfactory doze causing him to jerk on his already throbbing wrists and opening up the gouges that his struggles caused. He could feel the warm blood running down his arms again. His fuzzy mind registered that the noise was the door opening and he turned to glare at the man who was the bane of his life.

"Good morning Danny. I'm very well rested and looking forward to continuing your education today!" Warner informed his captive with glee.

Danny just glared at the man balefully. If he could get his hands on Warner or either of his goons right now he'd rip them limb from limb. Yes he was weak from exhaustion but there was no doubt he was also highly motivated.

"Darren, bring me the fork," ordered Warner. Danny watched as the large man handed over a rather primitive looking metal object, "Danny, this is Heretic's fork."

Danny saw a bar of metal with a two pronged fork at either end, a leather strap passing through the center. He still didn't know what it did but he was sure he wasn't going to like it.

"Josh, come here," ordered Warner. The other goon now had a name, not that it really helped, "I'm going to show you what this does."

Warner turned to Josh and placed one end of the fork under his chin and the other in the dip just above his breastbone and then passed the leather strap behind his neck where Darren secured it. Josh just stood there meekly allowing it with his head arched back. Once the men were done they turned him so that Danny could see exactly what the device meant.

"If Josh puts his head forward the skin underneath his chin will be pierced, the weight of his head will cause the other prong to press into the skin above his breastbone. It would be quite painful, I'm sure you'd agree," Warner barely spared Danny a glance as he turned back to his man, "Thank you Josh," he waited for Darren to undo the strap before taking it away. "A little bit of trivia for you on this wonderful device. It was actually used during the Inquisition to hasten confessions."

"Thanks for the history lesson," Danny replied sarcastically. Talking did nothing to help the dry feeling in his throat or the knot in his stomach.

"I do believe that it's time to put this to use," Warner stepped in front of Danny and placed the fork in the same manner he had with Josh. Darren disappeared behind their captive and Danny felt the leather strap being tightened and secured against the back of his neck. He knew there was no point struggling as it would make the device dig in, so he did the only thing he could and extended his neck dropping his head back slightly to ease any pressure, "Perfect. Do you know one of the things that frustrated me the most after our first meeting at the warehouse with the grenade Danny?"

The pause indicated that it hadn't been a rhetorical question so Danny mumbled, "No."

"Sleep deprivation. I couldn't sleep for any length of time because I feared that I might be found if I did. When I finally made it off the island I slept solidly for about twenty hours. You're going to get to know what sleep deprivation feels like Danny. If you fall asleep with that at your neck it will pierce your skin."

The detective could hear the delight in Warner's voice again as well as see the evil glint in his eye. The malicious smile didn't help any and Danny had a feeling Warner wasn't done yet.

"Now Boss?" asked Darren.

"Yes, I think so Darren, but be careful, don't want to injure him further just yet."

A noise behind Danny caused him to hold his breath but suddenly he felt the easing of the stretch of his arms as for some inexplicable reason Darren disconnected him from the chain on the ceiling, leaving just the cuffs around his wrist. Josh was next to Danny supporting his weight as he was far too weak to stay upright.

The two goons were either side of Danny as they moved out of the room and then out of the building, the sudden bright light of the Hawaiian morning pierced Danny's eyes painfully given that he'd been in a room with only just enough light to see by for hours. Warner trailed behind humming to himself. Danny tried to struggle but his only reward was being jabbed by the prongs of the fork. They crossed an open space and stopped just before the tree line. It was probably a good thing that Danny couldn't look down to see what was in front of him.

"Lower him in," instructed Warner.

The order caused Danny's breath to catch in his throat as the two men stretched his arms over his head again and grabbed him by his wrists. The solid ground disappeared and Danny found himself hanging by his wrists over nothing. He felt the movement as he was lowered and suddenly his eyes were level with the ground. They were lowering him into a hole in the ground! The fork prevented him from seeing the size of the space but he was sure it wasn't large.

"No!" he couldn't help crying out, the idea of being lowered into a hole in the ground finally freaking him out enough to react. Unfortunately the movement caused the fork to pierce his chin slightly and he quickly clamped his teeth into his bottom lip and pushed his head further back.

"Oh yes Danny!" Warner's voice came from above him, "Let me explain what we're going to do. There's a bar that Darren will secure to the top of the box you are now in, your wrists will then be chained to that bar. A lid will be placed on the box and then earth will be thrown in to cover the box up. Now you'll be uncovered and removed later if you survive. Of course it's really a question of whether you suffocate, pierce your skin with the forks and bleed to death or whether you can survive this until we return. Goodbye Danny!"

Once his wrists were secured above his head again the little light that was penetrating the box vanished and he was plunged into complete darkness. The sound of dirt hitting the lid of the box barely heard over his own erratic breathing as he panicked at the idea of being buried alive!

-5-0-

Steve, Chin, Kono, Ani and Kai were all awake just before the sun started to filter through the trees. Their sleeping bags were packed away and they quickly ate and drank before setting off to follow the trail again.

If yesterday had been slow going then today was even slower. The trail now not as fresh meant that they needed to look harder for clues as to the direction the people who had Danny had gone.

The silence between them was oppressive. None of the group wanted to think or talk about what would happen if they didn't find where Danny had been taken soon. Each person was lost in their own thoughts but the one thought they all shared was that failure was _not_ an option.

Nearly three hours later Steve held up his hand and stopped everyone in their tracks. He had noticed the trees were thinning out and he wanted to check it out. Using his hands he signalled to Kono, Ani and Kai to stay where they were while he and Chin moved further forward.

The two men quietly moved through the trees and after a few minutes came to a clearing. There was a building in the middle. It wasn't very large and they found it odd to find a brick built building in the middle of a forest but it looked like it had been there a while. The walls were covered with vines that had grown up the side and to the right side part of the roof was missing. As Chin and Steve lowered their bodies to the ground so they could watch without being seen they waited quietly. Twenty three agonising minutes later, Steve had been checking his watch regularly; a man appeared round the side of the building. Steve exchanged glances with Chin and indicated with his head that they should return to the others and the two men quietly slipped back into the trees.

Kono, Ani and Kai had been waiting impatiently for the two most senior members of their group to return. Kono had actually taken to pacing. They were all relieved when the two men materialised and they began a whispered conversation.

"There's a building in a clearing about a five minute walk that way," Chin told the others, indicating with his hand the direction they'd come from.

"A building in the middle of a forest?" Ani asked incredulously.

"Yeah, from the condition of it looks like it's been there a while."

"Danny's there," Steve said confidently.

"Did you see him?" asked Kono hopefully.

"No," replied Steve causing her shoulders to slump, "But we did see Josh Campbell."

"The guy whose house blew up this morning?"

"Yup."

"Well damn."

"What are we going to do?" asked Kai practically.

"We're going to go and get Danny back," stated Steve in a tone that could suggest he thought the question was stupid.

"What I meant was how. We don't know how many people are in that building. You've seen Campbell but we don't know where in the building Danny is being kept," Kai replied, not doubting for a moment that the Lieutenant Commander was right and that the detective was there.

"I'm going to go back and see if I can grab Campbell and we'll ask him," if there was an evil glint in Steve's eye as he made the statement nobody commented.

"I'll come with you," Chin told him. The SEAL opened his mouth to protest but the look he received caused him to change his mind. The older man may be the calmer and quieter member of 5-0 but he could be just as stubborn as any of the others, "Alright. You three wait here."

Once again Steve and Chin returned to the clearing hoping that Campbell was still outside, preferably alone. For once luck was on their side and he was at the side of the building having a smoke by the looks of things. The SEAL crept round the wooded area with Chin following until they were just behind where Campbell was standing. Steve instructed Chin to stay put and he crept silently out of the trees and crossed the clearing. His hand was over Josh's mouth with his arm up behind his back before the other man had any clue there was even anyone else there.

"Move," growled Steve quietly in his ear and he pushed him in the direction of Chin and the shelter of the trees. To ensure that there was less chance of anyone else spotting or hearing them they took the few minutes to return to the group with their captive.

"Nice brah!" exclaimed Kono with a grin on their return.

Steve pushed Josh to his knees, keeping his hand over his mouth and controlling him with the arm he had bent up behind the other man's back. Chin moved to point his weapon at Josh's head.

"I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth; you even attempt to shout my friend here will shoot you between the eyes before you get the chance. Understand?"

Josh looked at Chin's gun with wide eyes before he nodded. The hand dropped away but his arm was kept up behind his back. He gulped as he realised exactly who he was dealing with. The minute Warner had said he wanted to trap 5-0 and capture Williams Josh knew it was going to be trouble.

"Is Detective Williams here?"

"Yes," Josh's voice came out in a nervous squeak which didn't match his physique at all.

"Is he alive?"

"Last time I saw him, yes."

"Injured?"

"Yes," this time Josh gulped. He wasn't going to give away more than he was asked but he also wasn't going to lie. Something told him that this man had a bullshit meter that he couldn't fool and if he tried he wouldn't appreciate the consequences of the damage to his own wellbeing.

"How many men are here with you?"

"Two."

"Only two?" asked Steve doubtfully, pulling up on Josh's arm slightly.

"Yes," the word came out on a groan at the pain the movement caused.

"Who?"

"Shane Warner and Darren Carne."

"How many entrances into the building?"

"Just one."

"Where in the building is Danny?"

"Er…" Josh hesitated not sure how the man he knew was a SEAL would react to finding that his partner was buried in a box.

"Where in the building is Danny? Don't make me ask again!" he pulled Josh's arm even higher causing a yelp of pain before he dropped it down.

"He's not in the building."

"You said he was here," Chin growled.

"He is, just not in the building."

"You know what? I'm getting fed up with these games. Either you tell me everything, including where Danny is or I will rip your shoulder out of its socket!" Steve was at the end of his rope, which was short enough at the best of times but without Danny by his side it was miniscule in comparison to normal.

"I have rights!" Josh cried out.

"Yes, you do, which is why my report will say you resisted arrest and as I tried to subdue you your shoulder was dislocated."

"I have witnesses!"

"Didn't see anything, did you Cuz?"

"Nope can't say I did, I was kind of busy searching for Danny. How about you Kai, Ani?"

"I saw Josh Campbell resist Commander McGarrett's efforts to arrest him and he used appropriate force to secure the suspect," Kai responded to Kono's question.

"I like that," responded Steve with a slight chuckle.

"I was with Kono, didn't see a thing," Ani agreed.

Steve put further pressure on the arm he was holding getting ready to do exactly what he'd threatened, because it wasn't just a threat as far as he was concerned, it was a promise. He could almost hear Danny in his head yelling at him about procedure and suspect's rights which just made him more determined to find his brother.

"Alright, alright! Ease up," moaned Josh. Once Steve had dropped his arm slightly he sighed in relief and then spilled his guts, "Warner had Darren chain Williams up by his wrists and then used a rod thing to give him electric shocks, making it worse by pouring water over him. They kept it up most of the night. Then this morning Warner strapped this thing to his neck, it keeps his head back and if he drops it trying to sleep or get comfortable there's a forked prong that pierces his chin and base of his neck," he used his free hand to point to the area, "Then he got Darren and me to lower him into a box in the ground and hang him from his wrists again, put a lid on and cover it with dirt," he said the last in a rush and gulped at the look of pure rage on the faces he could see.

"You're telling me that Detective Williams is buried, alive, in a box with a torture device strapped to him?" the growl in the SEAL's voice would have turned the strongest man's blood to ice.

"Yes," the response was more of a whisper.

"Steve," Chin's voice gave a warning. Campbell had done what he'd been asked to and as Danny wasn't here it was now his job to stop his friend from carrying out his original threat.

"Kai, cuff this son of a bitch!"

Kai stepped over to them and quickly relieved Steve of Campbell's arm and yanked the other one behind his back and snapped the cuffs around his wrists nice and tight.

"What now?" asked Kono.

"Now we go and get Danny!" Steve stated, "Kai, Ani stay here with him," he indicated Campbell who was still on his knees, "If he so much as twitches, shoot him! Chin, Kono, with me."

Steve noted with satisfaction that both Kai and Ani pulled their service weapons and stood with them held directly at their prisoner. Steve, Chin and Kono vanished into the trees again to find their friend and finally bring him home.

Arriving back at the clearing they circled until they could see the entrance, ensuring that they remained out of sight. They wanted nothing more than to find out where Danny had been buried but their first priority had to be securing the scene. They'd be no good to him if they were dead because they allowed someone to get the drop on them.

"Kono, stay here and if anyone tries to leave…"

"Shoot 'em, got it Boss!"

Chin just shook his head at his cousin, she was getting more and more like McGarrett every day. He wasn't sure whether he should be worried or proud! The detective left the trees and followed Steve to the door. The SEAL counted on his fingers and when the third finger raised Chin grabbed the door handle and opened it.

Steve swung inside sweeping the area, Chin followed close behind. Silently they moved to the left given that the roof to the right was missing they figured anyone in the building would be in the covered area though Chin still walked sideways so he could cover that area to make sure nobody could sneak up behind them.

The corridor they were in was wide but there were only rooms to their right and it looked like there were only three. Stepping up to the first door Steve quietly opened it and cleared the room while Chin stayed in the corridor.

This had clearly been used for Warner and his pair of henchmen as there were three beds in the room and a small kitchen area with a gas camping stove so that they could heat food and water. There was another door towards the back of the room so he carried on into the room and checked it. It was the bathroom and it was also clear.

Steve nodded as he stepped back into the corridor and the two men moved towards the second door. Once again Steve entered but this room had no other doors off it and contained very little, apart from a chair which had the remnants of ropes tied to it. He had a feeling that his friend had been kept in here tied to that chair at one point. Turning to exit the room he noticed a pile in the corner and bent down to check it out. If he had needed any more proof that Danny was here then he had it. The pile consisted of his partner's once neat and clean clothes. Now they were just a pile of filthy rags where they'd been cut from his body and dumped on the floor. The sight caused a low growl to be torn from Steve. Mentally shaking himself he re-joined Chin in the corridor.

The fact that they hadn't heard any noise from outside and the other rooms were clear there was a high probability that the people they were looking for were in this last room. Chin quickly moved to the other side of the door, this way he could see down the corridor and also back up Steve. Again on the count of three the door was opened, this time though before Steve could get into the room they were forced back by gunfire.

Chin glanced at Steve who pushed the door open again as it had swung shut, another volley of gunfire and then silence again. The SEAL assessed the situation, took note of where the shots were all aimed and hoped to god that he wasn't misjudging this. He indicated to Chin that he should push the door again and when he did Steve went in low, the man shooting at them hadn't expected that and ended up with a bullet in his shoulder, his gun on the floor.

Chin quickly entered the room and cleared it before turning his attention to Steve and making sure he was alright.

"It's Carne, no sign of Warner!" Steve leaned over the man moaning on the floor with his hand clutching his shoulder and pressed his foot against the hand, "Where the hell is Warner?"

"Gone!"

"Where?"

"I dunno. I noticed Josh was missing, told the boss and he told me to wait in here then disappeared. There's a trail out the back so he probably went that way."

"There's only one entrance."

"A tunnel runs from under the right of the building into the trees."

"Why didn't Campbell tell us that?" Steve asked almost to himself.

"He didn't know about it!"

"Chin…"

"On it!" the older man disappeared from the room as Steve cuffed Carne.

Steve pulled the man on to his feet and looked round the room taking in what it held for the first time. There was a steel beam with a chain and given what Campbell had told them he figured this was where Danny was initially tortured. The thought made him growl again and he gripped his prisoner's arm tighter causing him to yelp. He pushed Carne out of the room ahead of him but pulled him to a halt at the doorway noticing the table. A car battery and a device that he recognised as similar to a cattle prod remained on top of it. Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he needed to find Danny not let the sights in this room cloud his judgement.

"Kono," he called over his radio.

"Yes Boss?"

"Bring Campbell to the clearing."

"You got it."

Steve carried on pushing Darren out in front of him. The man was lucky he hadn't spotted the cruel device on the table _before_ he entered the room, because the chances of him making it out alive would have dropped to zero. As they stepped back out into the clearing he saw Kono returning at a jog.

"Kai and Ani are bringing Campbell."

Chin joined them, "Warner's gone. The trail isn't particularly well defined but if you know it's there…"

"Damn it! He could circle back…" interrupted Steve.

"I don't think so Steve. I followed the trail to another small clearing and it looks like he'd been keeping an ATV or something there and there's another track wide enough for it too. I've already radioed HQ and they're getting a chopper in the air and units to the area. Once the chopper has traced where the track ends hopefully HPD can track him down."

Steve strode across the area to meet Kai and Ani, dragging Carne with him. The two men were pushed to their knees.

"Which one of you is going to show me where you buried Danny?"

Darren shot Josh a dirty look, the man shrugged in response, "He was gonna rip my shoulder out of its socket, what did you expect me to do? Let him?"

"He wouldn't have done that, he can't, he's a cop!"

"Actually he's a Lieutenant Commander and a Navy SEAL," corrected Kai.

"Navy SEAL?" they could all see Carne gulp at the news as he looked at the steely eyed Commander.

"That's right," Kai confirmed again, "He could hurt you in ways that probably wouldn't even leave a mark." He'd never seen the other man employ such methods but he was sure he could.

Steve stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest, his tattoos peeking out from under the sleeves of his t-shirt. The grin he wore backed up Kai's statement.

"I'll show you!" volunteered Josh.

"Let's go," Kai hauled Josh to his feet and the group, including Darren followed him round to the side of the building and crossed to an area near the tree line, he pointed at the area of freshly disturbed earth.

"He's under there."

"Kai, un-cuff him, he's going to help us dig Danny back out. You and Ani watch him and Carne…"

"If either of them makes a wrong move, shoot 'em!" finished Kai.

Steve nodded and turned as Chin jogged over with two shovels that had been left by the side of the building. He handed one to Josh and one to Steve. Kono had already dropped to her knees and was pulling the surface dirt away, he joined her. It didn't take long for Chin and Kono to have to step back as they were just getting in the way. Steve dug with a purpose that of rescuing Danny, while Josh dug to keep from being shot.

The moment they struck wood Steve ordered for Josh to be cuffed again.

"Danny, if you can hear me, we're nearly there, just a few more minutes…" Steve called then he and Chin leaned into the hole and pried off the lid. The sight that met them had both men cursing a blue streak and Kono covering her mouth in shock.

-5-0-

Danny tried desperately to calm his breathing. He knew that he would be using more oxygen if he allowed his panic to continue which would mean he'd die that much quicker. Steve was out there somewhere looking for him with Chin and Kono, all he needed to do was survive long enough for them to find him.

He started mentally coaching himself to breathe slower, concentrating only on maintaining a rhythm. It took a few minutes but eventually he calmed enough to breathe normally. Unfortunately now he no longer needed to concentrate on calming down it allowed his mind to register the discomfort and pain he was experiencing. Danny catalogued everything to try to establish if he had incurred any further injuries.

His wrists were burning and he could still feel the blood running down his arms from the open wounds, no longer able to get any relief from his full body weight hanging on them as his feet no longer touched a solid surface; his shoulders felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets and were also burning with pain; his body was still on fire and tingling from the burns inflicted by the picana; his head was throbbing, probably from the stress as well as the blow he'd received from the butt of Darren's gun the previous day. God, was it only yesterday?

The only new injury he could find was caused by the device strapped to his neck. The prongs had pierced the skin under his chin and at his breastbone, the resultant trickle of blood tickling his skin. He didn't think that it had gone in too far since the feeling wasn't of a river of blood more like a drizzle, not to mention although painful it was more a paper cut kind of pain than a stabbing pain, which is how he imagined it would feel if the prongs had gone deeper. Given Warner had already stabbed him he knew exactly how much that hurt.

The lack of light in his current accommodation was off putting. It meant he couldn't tell how long he'd been hanging there or see anything that would show how much damage had been done to any part of his body. At least hanging in the room in the building he could see enough to make out the things around him. Not that he could look anywhere but up right now without pushing the metal prongs deeper into his body.

The thought caused him to realise just how much his neck was aching from being forced to arch back. Every time he tried to drop it slightly to relieve some of the pressure the prongs reminded him he couldn't.

There was certainly a long list of woes as far as Danny was concerned right now but his biggest complaint, had there been anyone to listen, would be that he was tired. Not just a little bit, not even bone weary but on the cusp of passing out, tired. If that happened then his head would drop and the prongs against his chin would pierce deep into his chin and probably through into his mouth. The thought made him shudder. Surely there was nothing in his lower jaw or at the base of his neck that would cause instantaneous death. That would mean he would likely bleed out very slowly as he was pretty sure there were no arteries in the areas. He really wished that he'd paid closer attention in school when they covered human anatomy in his biology classes, although maybe it was better not to know.

Time seemed to drag for the detective as he fought against the urge to sleep every second. There were times that he failed and his head dropped of its own volition only for him to be brought back into wakefulness as the pain of the prongs piercing his skin again dragged him back to the here and now. After the sixth time he lost count of how often it happened, all he knew was each time he felt the blood trickling down his skin. There was no way he could be sure if the blood was stopping in between these occasions given that he wasn't aware of how long it was between each episode or if he was continually losing blood.

Right now there were several ways he could die, none of which appealed to him. He could suffocate through lack of oxygen; he could die of blood loss and shock; or the infection he knew was starting to set in could cause septicaemia. Personally he wanted to die when he was old and grey, surrounded by his children, grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren. Yes, he hoped to meet someone else and have more kids. Realistically he knew he probably wouldn't have to wait until he was old to go grey since working with Super SEAL was enough to give him new grey hairs on a daily basis. Not to mention he'd probably go bald prematurely from pulling his hair out in frustration at the man's antics. What he wouldn't give to be ranting at Steve right about now about proper police procedure and filling out paperwork explaining how the SEAL had yet again caused an explosion in such a way that they wouldn't be hauled over the coals for it.

Thoughts of Steve led to thoughts of Chin and Kono, then on to thoughts of Grace and even Rachel. If he died in this box buried in the earth of this godforsaken forest on this pineapple infested hellhole he wouldn't get to scare the bejesus out of Grace's boyfriends or walk her down the aisle when a man he, and no doubt the rest of 5-0, finally approved of won her heart. He wouldn't get to hold his grandchildren and spoil them rotten. Then of course there was the fact he wouldn't get to see Steve finally come to his senses and propose to the gorgeous Cath and have kids of their own.

The thought of Steve with kids brought a smile to his face. When they first met he could never have thought of the SEAL having children. He scared that poor kid in the elevator half to death in their first few weeks together. Then he saw him with Grace and knew that she had somehow, in her own unique way, burrowed her way through the walls and into the Navy SEAL's heart. His brother was so gentle with the little girl he considered his niece. After Danny had been poisoned with the sarin it had been Steve who had collected Grace from school and kept her calm. Whenever Danny saw the two of them together he knew that Steve would make a great Dad when the time came.

Danny also had no doubt that Steve would be there for Grace if this whole fiasco turned into the worst case scenario and ended with his demise. He would probably be the one to frighten the boyfriends; walk her down the aisle and hold his grandchildren. Danny couldn't think of anyone, other than himself, that he'd rather have look out for his precious daughter but the fact still remained that he wanted to be the one to be there and he was damn well going to fight to do it. Steve would expect nothing less and neither would Grace and the rest of his ohana.

A shiver ran through his body as sweat dripped down his face. The temperature that came with the infection he knew was setting in was sending his body mixed signals. Again his head dropped and the prongs pierced the skin, more blood ran down his chest and neck. Groaning he forced his head back, feeling the muscles spasm with the strain. How much longer would he be able to keep this up? Fighting to live was one thing; mentally he wanted to keep fighting; physically he wasn't sure his body was up to it anymore.

Danny felt his eyes closing again and he was truly frightened that this was going to be the last time. He didn't want to go out like this… His head dropped and the prongs pierced his skin deeper, the pain just wasn't enough to enable him to lift his head again which now felt like a ton of rock. The heavier his head got the further the prongs pierced, Danny was just at the point where he was ready to pass out from pain and exhaustion when he heard the sound of something scraping across the top of the box he was in and he was sure he heard a familiar voice.

"Danny, if you can hear me, we're nearly there, just a few more minutes…"

That was definitely Steve's voice and it was the impetus Danny needed to pull his head back one final time. He could hang on another few minutes when he knew that rescue was so close. The sound of the lid being pried off echoed in the small space and moments later Danny was blinded by the light that filtered into the box and slammed his eyes shut. It may not have been direct light and was probably not as bright as if he had been on the surface but it still hurt his eyes given he'd been in the dark for some time now. He heard both Chin and Steve swearing loudly and in a way that would have most men blush; with Steve that was kind of a given as he was a sailor and he knew swear words in many different languages but Danny had never heard Chin swear quite so vehemently before. He figured he must look really bad, he certainly felt it.

Steve took a deep breath as he finished swearing and looked down on his partner and brother. He was hanging from a bar, by a chain that connected to metal bands wrapped tightly round his wrists; blood seeped from under the metal and could be seen running down Danny's arms. There was dried blood down the side of his face which looked to come from a gash on his temple. All of that was bad enough but when Steve spotted the device strapped to Danny's neck he thought he was going to be sick. It was clear from the blood still trickling down his neck and chest that the prongs had pierced Danny's skin at least once. Steve had seen many things as a SEAL, most of it classified, but he could honestly say he'd never seen a device like this one. The cattle prod like device he had seen on far too many occasions, or at least variations of it. This one was new to him.

"How the hell are we going to get him out without injuring him further?" whispered Chin.

"I don't think we can, or at least not without at least causing him pain," replied Steve regretfully. He rubbed a hand over his sweat soaked hair and prayed for the strength to be able to get Danny out of this hole, literally, no matter what pain it caused, "Danno, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," the response was barely audible, the voice croaky and hardly distinguishable as Danny's.

"We're going to get you out but it's probably going to hurt," Steve told him as gently as he could.

"No shit!" Danny paused to take a breath, willing himself to remain conscious just a little longer, "Get me out of here… Super SEAL!"

"Chin, see if you can hook your arm under his left armpit, I'll take his right. Kono, once Chin and I have Danny's weight you'll need to remove the bar so we can pull him out. Kai, we're going to need your help."

"Got it," Kono knelt between the two men and watched as each of them settled on their stomachs and reached in, sliding their own arms under Danny's armpits.

Kai stood just to the side, waiting for the moment that the two men would need help getting the detective out of the box.

"On three," Steve instructed, "One, two, three!"

The two men took all of Danny's weight and Kono quickly removed the bar and threw it to one side then dashed to Steve's side as Kai dropped next to Chin.

Steve and Chin continued to support Danny's weight while Kono and Kai helped the two men get to their knees, not an easy feat with the extra weight. Once the two men were kneeling Kai and Kono reached round and grabbed one of Danny's thighs each to help lift him the rest of the way out of the box. The four of them gently laid him on the ground.

"Stay still Danno," Steve spoke quietly and rested his hand on Danny's forehead to reinforce his instructions before reaching round and finally being able to release the strap holding the Heretics fork in place.

Chin was on the radio requesting an immediate medevac. He had felt the heat rolling from his friend and knew that they couldn't waste any time. The gouges in his wrists from the metal bands were red not just from the pressure but from the infection that had clearly started to set in.

Steve removed the metal bands from his brother's wrists all the while mentally listing all the ways in which he was going to make sure Shane Warner met a grizzly end for what he'd done.

Kai had grabbed the first aid kit out of Steve's kit and put it on the ground next to the SEAL, earning a grateful smile as he tried his best to clean and cover the wounds with the limited supplies.

All of them were worried by the quiet, still form. He had yet to open his eyes and Kono knelt beside him using her body to shelter him from the bright sunlight even as she soaked a cloth with some water and wiped his face. The ocean blue eyes fluttered open and met her chocolate brown ones.

"Hey," the word came out as a whisper.

"Hey yourself," she smiled in relief at seeing his eyes open and hearing his voice, no matter how weak it sounded and how full of pain his eyes were. He was alive.

"Everyone OK?" he croaked. He remembered how they'd all been unconscious at the house before he'd been taken and all had various injuries.

"We're better now we've found you," she assured him, "Now you just concentrate on you!"

"How you doing Danno?" Steve's face came into view.

"Hurts."

"I'm sure."

"Chopper will be here in five minutes," Chin told them as he too knelt down and made sure Danny could see him, "Then we'll get you to Queens. Henry is waiting for you."

"Joy," the injured man managed to sound none too thrilled at the prospect. He turned his head, now that he could, a movement he soon regretted as pain shot through both his neck and shoulders causing a cry of pain and his hands to try to find purchase on something solid to help him through the waves of agony.

Steve's hand grabbed one of Danny's at the same time Kono took his other one, giving the detective an anchor to the here and now as he fought through the spasms wracking his body. Both were surprised at the strength with which he clung to their hands given his weakened state. The spasm passed and his hands loosened and then his whole body seemed to collapse in on itself, his head lolled to the side.

"Shit!" Steve reached out and placed his fingers on Danny's neck but found no pulse. His own heart stuttered in his chest at the thought they'd found their friend only to lose him. Moving closer he leant over and checked to see if Danny was breathing; he wasn't.

Steve knelt next to his brother and did something he had hoped he would never have to; he placed his hands on his chest and started doing compressions. The others watched in silence, their faces frozen in horror.

The noise of a chopper overhead pulled Chin out of his state of shock and he was on the radio speaking to the pilot. The clearing wasn't big enough to enable the chopper to land so a paramedic was winched down with a stokes basket.

"What do you have?" he asked dropping down beside Steve.

"Danny Williams, been missing approximately thirty hours. He's been tortured with a cattle prod," Steve started to reel off even as he continued chest compressions, "and that," he pointed to the fork which still lay nearby, "When we found him he was hanging from his wrists in that box," his head indicated the hole in the ground just a few feet away, "Danny was breathing and spoke to us then his body seemed to spasm, when the spasm was over his heart had stopped."

As the medic had listened to the rundown of what had happened he felt sick. Yes, he was an army trained medic, but he couldn't ever recall having dealt with a situation like this that involved a civilian police officer. Lucas wasted no time in unpacking his equipment, which included a small field defibrillator. He hooked Danny up to the device and watched the screen to allow him to assess his patient's condition. He set the dial.

"He's in V-Fib, clear!" he pressed the paddles to Danny's chest and shocked him. He waited a moment to see if there was any change, there wasn't. He adjusted the dial again, "Clear," the paddles once again connected with Danny's chest, again there was no change and Lucas adjusted the dial once more and tried a third time, "Clear," no change. "Start compressions again."

Steve was almost as pale as Danny but did as Lucas had asked. The medic quickly inserted a cannula into Danny's hand and pulled out a vial and syringe, "I'm giving him Amiodarone," he told Steve as he caught him glancing over. Once he had administered the drug he again turned to the defibrillator and adjusted the dial, "Clear!"

Steve sat on his heels as he watched the medic try to revive Danny, his own heart stuttering every time the shock was administered. It was only after the fifth attempt and the change in the beeping sound coming from the machine to which Danny had been connected that Steve's own heart settled back into something resembling a normal rhythm.

"Alright, he's back," Lucas didn't waste any time with Danny's other injuries as he started prepping him for transport, "If anyone is coming with then you better get ready as once he's in the basket he's going up and we're out of here!"

"All of you go," Kai told the three other members of 5-0, "Ani and I can handle things here. Troy and James are heading here via the other track and should arrive soon." The officer had not been idle while Steve and the medic fought to bring Danny back. Troy and James were already on their way to meet units at the bottom of the track the earlier chopper had identified when Kai's call had come over the radio for back up.

"Commander McGarrett," Lucas spoke to Steve who looked surprised that the medic knew his name given they hadn't spoken except about Danny, "No need to look surprised Sir, yours and your team's reputations precede you. I take it you know how to use one of these harnesses?" he pointed to the one strapped to his own waist.

"Yes."

"Here," he handed over a spare one, "Get your team into the chopper, by the time you're settled I should have Danny stable enough to transport."

"Thanks…"

"Lucas."

"Thanks Lucas," Steve ushered Kono and Chin to an area where the chopper could lower the steel reinforced rope and before Lucas had finished settling Danny in the stokes basket with Kai's assistance all three were on board the chopper and waiting.

-5-0-

Doctor Henry Jensen was waiting anxiously at the helipad for the chopper carrying Danny Williams to arrive. He had been receiving regular updates since the chopper had arrived on scene and knew that the man was in a bad way. The trauma room had been prepared and his team were there waiting for their patient, ready to respond to any instruction that was given to them.

Given the reports he had received from Lucas, both when he arrived and as he was en route to the hospital, Henry had already requested an ICU bed be made available. The last report stated that Danny's heart was having a hard time but he was breathing on his own, however his temperature was currently registering at 104 Fahrenheit or 40 Celsius. Henry was concerned that Danny may not be able to maintain his own airway given the amount of stress his body had been under and was still under.

The chopper landed and he ducked as he and Eve, one of his nurses, ran towards it to meet them with a gurney. The medic, with the help of the rest of 5-0, pulled the basket from the chopper and met the doctor and nurse halfway. The basket was lowered on to the gurney and they all rushed into the ER. Henry, Lucas and Eve continued into the trauma room while the three remaining members of 5-0 were stopped and sent to a private waiting room.

Kono stood in the middle of the room like a statue, unable to go any further. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears; her whole body trembled.

"Cuz?" asked Chin softly. That was all it took and the tears spilled down her cheeks. She quickly found her cousin's arms wrapped tightly around her and she rested her head on his shoulder as she finally let go of her emotions.

"Oh god Chin… His wrists… his…"

"Hey, it's gonna be OK," he ran his hand up and down her back as he held the other on the back of her head, "He's getting the best care."

"But his heart…"

"Is beating again," Steve spoke quietly as he approached the pair and wrapped his arms around both of them in a rare display of emotion, "Danny's stronger than any of us give him credit for. He survived what Warner did to him until we got there and he'll continue to fight. He's got Grace and us. There's no way he'll leave us if he has a choice!"

"Warner's still out there though!" pointed out Kono, lifting her head off Chin's shoulder and looking into the eyes of her boss. Those eyes were steely with determination and she knew that Warner wasn't going to survive a confrontation with the Navy SEAL if he was dumb enough to show his face again.

"HPD have officers all over the island looking for him and there are officers stationed throughout the hospital. Warner isn't getting near Danny again!" growled Steve, "If he tries…" the rest of the words were left unsaid but they all knew what he meant and were in agreement.

-5-0-

Doctor Henry Jensen stood back from his patient's bed once he was settled in ICU and sighed, running a hand over his mussed black hair. There was nothing more they could do, the rest was up to Danny and for the first time Henry wasn't sure if the detective he'd become so fond of, even if he would never tell him that, would win this particular fight.

A throat cleared and he looked into the equally concerned eyes of the male nurse charged with Danny's care. Akela had also formed a bond with Danny and his team. As frustrating as it was to keep having one or the other of them appearing in the hospital it was really hard not to like them and to maintain the professional distance that they could with most of their patients.

"I'll go and speak to his family now," Henry told Akela, "I'm sure they'll want to be with him."

"Oh yeah," Akela allowed a small smile to grace his lips at the thought of even trying to keep the rest of this man's team and family out of ICU. All the staff had long ago given up the fight to make them stick to visiting hours.

Henry glanced back at Danny a final time before slipping quietly out of the ICU, passed the HPD officers that the Captain had ordered as protection for the injured detective and headed for the room that he knew held his patient's ohana. He put his hand on the door knob, took a deep breath and opened it. Once in the room he closed the door behind him and sat in a chair opposite the group he'd come to know so well.

Steve locked eyes with the doctor who glanced quickly at Grace. She and Rachel had arrived not long after Danny had been whisked off to the trauma room. Immediately the little girl had pulled her hand out of her Mom's and run to her Uncle, throwing her arms around the SEAL's waist as he'd stood up to greet them. He'd done all he could to reassure her but that had been very little given Danny's condition; he didn't want to tell her how bad her Dad was and he didn't want to lie so he'd just dropped to his knees and held her in his embrace until she fell against him, exhausted from the tears she had shed. Now looking at the doctor and seeing the weariness in his eyes Steve could tell that Danny's little girl did _not_ need to hear whatever was about to be said.

"Rachel," he turned to his brother's ex and spoke softly but before he could suggest she take Grace from the room Kono spoke.

"Why don't I take Grace to get a drink and something to eat?" she suggested, "Chin can fill me in when we get back."

"I want to stay here," Danny's daughter didn't tend to whine but she was on the verge of doing so now and none of the adults could really blame her, "Uncle Steve?"

"Gracie, Doctor Jensen needs to speak to us about Danno but he's going to use a lot of big words that you won't understand and I don't want you to be frightened…"

"I won't be. I'll be brave," interrupted his niece her brown eyes huge and glistening with more tears as she sat on her mother's lap.

"Sweetheart," Steve pulled her onto his own lap, "I promise that once I've spoken to Henry I will tell you what is happening but I think Danno would want you to hear it from me and your Mom, not a doctor."

"But Doctor Henry is practically family!" insisted Grace.

Steve would have smiled at that if the situation hadn't been so serious. He knew that whatever Henry had to say was bad, just by looking in the doctor's eyes and if there was bad news to be given about Danny to this child that was so precious to all of them then it would come from him and nobody else, "That's true, but right now he's a doctor and he has a job to do. The same as I have a job to do at the moment, do you know what that job is Gracie?"

"It's head of 5-0."

"Well yes, but I have an even more important job."

"You do?" the brown eyes widened.

"Yes and that's to look after you. I promised Danno. You wouldn't want me to break that promise would you Gracie?"

"No," her response was quiet and she dropped her head to stare at the floor.

"Hey," Steve lifted her chin so he could look in her eyes and she would hopefully be as perceptive as her father and would see the truth in his words, "I know Danno doesn't lie to you and neither will I. I promise once I've spoken to Henry I _will_ tell you what's happening with your Dad, alright?" when he received a nod he kissed her forehead, "Good girl. Now go with Auntie Kono."

Grace left the room with her hand wrapped tightly in Kono's. Glancing back as she closed the door behind her Kono saw the gratitude in both Steve's and Rachel's eyes.

"It's bad," stated Steve before Henry could even open his mouth.

"I won't lie to you," Henry looked at the three people opposite him, "Right now it's not looking good. Danny's heart has been weakened by the electric shocks he received…"

Rachel gasped and put her hand over her mouth and Steve wondered if he should have sent her with Grace instead of Kono. He hadn't had a chance to tell her everything that Danny had gone through. It was too late to do anything about it now and he quickly wrapped her in a comforting embrace.

"Rachel, I'm sorry. Danny was tortured by Warner and the treatment he received doesn't get any better. Do you want to step out of the room…?"

"No," she shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. She scrubbed at them and tried to get her emotions under control. Yes, she divorced Danny and was now married to Stan, a man she loved, but she still cared about the father of her child and to know that someone had tortured him was horrific, still, she needed to hear about his condition so that she could help Grace understand what was going on. Gratefully she leaned into Steve's embrace and drew strength from him as she took a deep breath, "Carry on," she said to Henry.

"OK. He has burns all over his body which we've treated. We've cleaned the wounds under his chin and on his breast bone, they each required a few stitches but the…" he struggled to find a word that wouldn't upset Rachel further, "implement that created them was rusty so we're concerned about that area getting infected. That said Danny is already suffering from an infection from the gouges on his wrists. We had to debride the wounds and have treated them as best as we can but they're deep and he may require surgery, we won't know any more until he regains consciousness but there is a chance of nerve damage."

"What about head trauma?" asked Steve, remembering the dried blood on Danny's face.

"There are no signs of any bleeding or brain trauma. At worst he has a minor concussion but we will continue to monitor it."

"What aren't you telling us Henry?"

"Steve, given the torture, dehydration, exhaustion, infection, Danny's extremely weak. I've put him on a ventilator as he's having difficulty breathing on his own. We're giving him IV antibiotics for the infection but with his system being so weak… look, honestly, I'm not sure if Danny will survive," there he'd said it out loud and it made him feel sick, "Medically we're doing all we can, the rest is up to Danny."

It wasn't unexpected given the condition the man had been in when they'd found him, but it still felt like a punch to the gut hearing Henry say he might not make it. The silence in the room dragged on for a few minutes as they all took in what had been said.

"Can we see him?" asked Rachel.

"Of course, he's in the ICU. Akela is expecting you," Henry felt a sense of de ja vu.

"Chin, call Kono and ask her to bring Grace back then you both head up there. Rachel and I need to speak to Grace before we see Danny."

The older detective knew that Steve desperately wanted to get up to the ICU and see their brother, but knew he would put his duty to his niece above what he wanted. Leaving the room he called Kono and did as he'd been asked. Once she returned Grace was ushered into the room with her Mom and Uncle while Chin and Kono went with Henry to the ICU. Chin used the time to tell his cousin about Danny's condition and comfort her as she broke down again, tears falling from his own eyes at the thought they might lose one of their ohana.

-5-0-

Steve stood outside Danny's room in ICU with Grace in his arms and Rachel by his side. He had done his best to explain to Grace how sick Danno was without scaring her but he had promised he wouldn't lie so when she'd asked if Danno was going to die he'd had no choice but to tell her that it was a possibility.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace looked from the room to the man who she loved and trusted almost as much as her Daddy.

"Yeah Gracie?"

"I don't want Danno to die," her voice quivered.

"I know Gracie, neither do I. Why don't we get in there and tell him that?" he suggested, not knowing what else to say to comfort the nine year old. Glancing at Rachel she nodded her approval. It never failed to amaze her how good this man was with her daughter. Her ex called him a Neanderthal but he was anything but when it came to their little girl.

Henry came out and explained about the machines and what they each did, hoping that it would be a little less scary for Grace if she understood that each item was there to help her father. She asked questions that surprised the doctor but not Steve or Rachel; they both knew she had her father's inquisitiveness. Once he was sure that Grace was as comfortable as she was ever likely going to be with seeing her father in this situation he slid the glass door open for them and let them join Chin and Kono.

Steve approached the bed, glancing at Grace as he did. The only sign of any distress was a quiver in her bottom lip. He gave her a gentle squeeze before sitting in a chair next to the bed and settling her on his lap. Together they put their hands through the bars of the bed rail that prevented Danny from falling out of the bed and rested them on his arm, side by side.

"We're here Danno," Steve spoke firmly. No matter how uncomfortable he felt talking to his unconscious partner he needed to do it if there was even a chance that the other man could hear him, "Grace and me, we need you to fight. Rachel, Chin, Kono, we _all_ need you to fight."

"I love you Danno," Grace's soft voice joined her Uncle in urging her father to stay with them, "I don't want you to die!" she sobbed and then buried her face into her Uncle's neck.

"Well Danny, you can't disappoint your daughter. I know you're not ready to wake up right now, but you keep fighting to live. That's an order from your boss!" Steve carried on talking even as he rubbed his hand in soothing circles over Grace's back.

-5-0-

It had been a week since they'd pulled Danny out of that box in the ground and still he remained unconscious and in critical condition. There had been one improvement, somehow his weakened body had managed to fight off the worst of the infection and although he was still on antibiotics Henry was hopeful that they'd beaten it into submission, one hurdle down another dozen to go.

There had been no sign of Warner but all the intel they had pointed to him still being on the islands. HPD officers were assigned to protect not only Danny but Rachel and Grace too. Nobody was taking any chances where Warner was concerned. Even Steve, Chin and Kono didn't go anywhere alone, though the Governor and HPD Captain had to fight tooth and nail with McGarrett to get him to agree that the rest of 5-0 were in danger if Warner couldn't get to his preferred target of Williams. The compromise had been that they would watch out for each other, not go anywhere alone, including home.

Kai Kealoha, Ani Kale, Troy Davis and James Wong had all been assigned to 5-0 to help with not only the investigation but keeping an eye on the three mobile members of 5-0, a task that all four took very seriously and led to more than one argument between them and the Commander.

"Kai, I keep telling you I'm perfectly capable of going to the hospital by myself!" growled Steve as the young officer followed him out of the 5-0 offices.

"And I keep telling you that I am going with you, as per the agreement with the Governor and Captain! If I let you go off by yourself and something happens then I'll be left dealing with the guilt, not to mention I'd lose my job!" Kai used the same argument that he used every single time they had this conversation, which was every time Steve left to go _anywhere_.

"I'm a goddamn Navy SEAL!"

"That does _not _mean that you should just go off by yourself Steve! Do we really have to have this argument _every single time_? What the hell would Danny say if I let something happen to you? How do I explain to him, _when_ he wakes up," he emphasised the when as nobody believed any differently, there was no if about Danny's survival despite his critical condition, "That his Neanderthal Super SEAL partner wouldn't follow orders and went off alone, getting himself killed? Tell me how do I tell him that? Or Grace for that matter? Oh, sorry Gracie, Uncle Steve thought he was immortal…!"

"Alright! Jesus, I'm going to ban you from hanging around Danny when he wakes up, you've clearly spent too much time with him in the past since you're even ranting like him now!"

Kai allowed himself a small grin. He had learned that if he used the ranting and Grace cards together during these arguments he would always win eventually. Satisfied he carefully checked the surrounding area as they headed for Steve's truck. The SEAL hadn't driven the Camaro all week; it just didn't feel right without Danny with him.

The two men arrived at the hospital and entered the ICU area as they had done every day for the past week, the only difference this time was that Kono and Troy were standing outside the sliding glass door to Danny's room and the blinds were closed obscuring their view inside.

"What's wrong?" demanded Steve as he reached them.

"I'm not sure," Kono replied, brown eyes glancing from the door to Steve, "His breathing changed and his heart started to beat really fast and set off the alarm and then we were thrown out of the room!"

"Let me through!" the voice of Henry Jensen stopped anything Steve was going to say.

"Henry? What's happening?"

"How the hell can I tell you that if I'm out here Steve? Let me through and I'll go and find out!" Steve stepped aside allowing the doctor through and then tried to follow him into the room, "No, you need to stay out here. I'll come back out and let you know what's going on as soon as I can," that said he pulled the glass door closed and let the blind drop back into place.

The Navy SEAL started to pace back and forth until Akela entered the ICU and told him to quit it or he'd throw him out. Steve had been tempted to tell him he could try but the nurse was about five inches taller and broad with it. There was no doubt in the SEAL's mind he could take the guy but he then heard Danny in his head asking him what the hell he was thinking and calling him a Neanderthal and a goof! He shrugged and leaned up against the wall beside the door to Danny's room. Akela rolled his eyes as he opened the sliding door and went in, Steve managed to peek into the room before the door closed and the blinds dropped but his view was obscured by the amount of medical personnel surrounding the bed. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

It was another fifteen minutes before the doors opened again and Henry stepped out. The moment he was outside he found himself surrounded, not only by Kono and Steve but Troy and Kai as well. The two HPD officers on protection detail also hovered close by wanting to hear what the doctor had to say.

"What's going on Henry? Is Danny alright?"

"He started to fight the ventilator. We ran some tests and we've removed it. Danny is now breathing on his own though he does have a mask to supplement his oxygen intake."

"That's good news, right?" asked Steve hesitantly. Although he'd been urging his partner to fight and he spoke in terms of when and not if Danny woke up, he still needed reassurance.

"Yes, Steve, it's good news!" Henry smiled for the first time since Danny had been brought into the ER, "He's not out of the woods yet as he's still weak, but the fact that he's strong enough to breathe on his own is a very positive sign. I'm downgrading his status to stable."

"Is he awake?" Kono wanted to know.

"No. Like I said, he's still weak. His body knows it needs to rest to heal. You can go in and see him now, but don't try to wake him up," he glanced at Steve as he said it, knowing that the man's desire to see his brother awake might overrule common sense, "You wake him up instead of letting him do it in his own time and I'll kick your ass out of this hospital faster than you can blink. Got it?"

"Got it!" replied Steve. He meant it too. Danny needed to get strong again and rest would be the best thing for him.

"Good," Henry smiled at the group before taking his leave and allowing them to enter the room.

The two officers standing guard outside peeked quickly into the room before turning their attention back to their surroundings, glad that the man they'd been guarding every day for the last week was improving.

-5-0-

"Uncle Steve?"

"Yeah Grace."

"When is Danno going to wake up?"

Steve scratched his head. She asked him this question every day and had been even more persistent since the ventilator had been removed two days ago. It was hard to explain to a nine year old, even one as smart as Grace, that he would wake up in his own time. Rachel was asked the question at least twice a day as well.

Nine year olds weren't known for their patience, then again neither was Steve. Each of the team, including their temporary additions, had witnessed the conversation and all had to hide a smirk as the man explained to the little girl that they just needed to be patient. Steve had caught Chin grinning as he used the word patient and he knew exactly what the older man was thinking and had to consciously stop himself from poking his tongue out.

"I dunno Grace. Henry said he's getting stronger every day but his body is still healing. Sleep really is the best thing for him right now."

Grace sighed and dropped her chin onto her hand; her elbow was currently resting on the bed rail and stared at her father. Suddenly she sat up straight on Steve's lap, "Can I sit on the bed next to him please?"

Steve nodded as she climbed off his lap so that he could take the bed rail down. Since the ventilator had been removed Grace was allowed on the bed next to her injured father as long as she was careful of all the other wires and tubes. Steve lifted Grace onto the bed.

Grace got comfortable and took her Dad's fingers in her hand. She was very conscious of the still heavily bandaged wrists. Slowly she rubbed her thumb over his fingers as much as her small hand would allow. "Danno, I know you're probably still hurting and Uncle Steve, Doctor Henry and Mommy all say that you need the sleep to get better. It's OK if you still want to sleep Daddy. I'm just going to wait patiently like Uncle Steve said." If Danny had been able to he'd probably have laughed out loud at that. The idea of his brother suggesting to his daughter that she needed to be patient would have tickled him.

Grace did exactly that for two more days. She sat on the bed and talked to her Dad about her day and all the things they could do once he got better. Most of those things involved her Aunts and Uncles, which now included Ani, Kai, Troy and James. The beach at Steve's featured heavily as well.

On the twelfth day since Danny had been brought to the hospital something in the little girl seemed to snap. She marched into the room, followed by Steve and Kai who had picked her up from school; she stood beside the bed, hands on her hips and glared at her father.

Steve looked at Kai, who shrugged, completely out of his depth with this situation. He had siblings but he was young, single and didn't spend much time around other people's kids.

"Grace…" Steve hesitantly stepped forward.

"No Uncle Steve!" her hands left her hips and started to wave around in a manner reminiscent of her Dad, something Steve actually missed and never thought he would, "This has gone on long enough!"

"Grace…" Kai tried this time.

She ignored him, "Danno, I want you," she pointed both her hands at him, "to wake up! Right this minute!" she followed that with a stamp of her foot. That was something Steve had never seen Danny do, but was sure that he'd wanted to on more than one occasion.

"Sweetie, that's not…"

"I," she pointed at herself, ignoring Steve completely, "am fed up of coming to visit you," she waved her hands back in her Dad's direction, "in this hospital," the hand motion took in the whole of the room this time, "WAKE UP!"

Steve and Kai knelt either side of the little girl, desperate to get her attention. Akela had come into the room to find out what the commotion was about. He stopped short when he saw Grace standing between the two men, tears running down her face.

"I just want him to wake up Uncle Steve! Why won't he wake up?" she sobbed and threw her arms round his neck.

"I don't know Grace," he brought his own arms round her back and gave her a squeeze. He mouthed an apology to Akela who waved his hand in dismissal and checked on his patient. Glancing back at the three other occupants he motioned to Steve to join him.

Kai saw and reached out for Grace, who turned to him for comfort without hesitation as Steve got up to join Akela by the bed, "Doesn't he love me anymore Uncle Kai?"

"Oh Gracie, he loves you very much."

"Then why doesn't he wake up?" the words were plaintive and tore at Kai's heart. In the months he'd known 5-0 each of them had become family to him and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this little girl before him was one of the reasons that Danny had survived thus far against all the odds.

Steve watched as Kai comforted Grace as best he could. None of them, not even Rachel, would be able to fully console her at this point. She'd reached the end of her endurance. He turned his attention back to Akela.

"Sorry about that," he nodded back at Grace.

"Don't be. I think it might have done the trick," Akela replied. Steve glanced at him questioningly, "I didn't come into the room just because I heard Grace shouting. There was a change in Danny's vitals. I don't want to get her hopes up, but I'm pretty sure he heard her and the increased heart rate I'm still seeing is in response to her distress."

Steve leaned forward and spoke to Danny, his hand resting over his brother's, "Danny, if you can hear me squeeze my hand." There was no response.

"Let Grace try," suggested Akela. Although he didn't want to get her hopes up, Danny's increased heartbeat hadn't dropped off and he was still convinced it was linked to the fact that the injured man's daughter was in the room and he could hear that she was upset.

"Grace," Steve called softly as he lowered the bed railing, "Come here." She looked up at her Uncle with big watering eyes but went to him unquestioningly, allowing him to lift her onto the bed next to her Dad, "Take Danno's hand Gracie," once he saw that she had his hand Steve put his own on Danny's arm, "Grace his here, holding your hand. Can you squeeze her hand?"

There was a pause and then Grace's eyes grew even wider, "He moved his fingers Uncle Steve!"

Resting his hand over Grace's now he spoke again, "Danny, do it again," he instructed and he too felt the slight movement, "That's good. Can you open your eyes for me?" the question was soft, he didn't want to upset Grace or Danny but if they could just see those baby blues opening…

-5-0-

Danny ached and he was tired. He knew there were people nearby but he just didn't have the energy to acknowledge anyone. The idea of opening his eyes or moving any part of his body seemed like an overwhelming task right now.

The last clear memory he had was of Steve and Chin pulling him out of that box that Warner had put him in, everything after that was hazy and pain filled. Voices had come and gone, encouraging him to keep fighting. Two distinctive voices prevented him from giving up completely even as his body was screaming at him to just give up and allow the darkness to envelope him forever. Steve and Grace's voices had stuck in his mind and kept him going.

He had no idea how long he'd been fighting this internal battle but he really didn't know if he had the strength to carry on. Then he heard it, the voice of his own little angel asking him, no _demanding,_ that he wake up, his heart started to race. The demand was quickly followed by the sound of her sobbing. This was his fault, she was crying because of him. He heard other voices he recognised but hers was the one that he clung to even as it broke his heart to hear her words. _'Doesn't he love me anymore?'_ He needed to tell her, let her know that he was still here and he hadn't, _wouldn't_ give up!

He felt pressure on his hand and a voice, Steve's, asking him to squeeze his hand and as much as he wanted to he couldn't make his hand move. Then he felt the bed move, felt another hand, smaller, softer. Steve's voice once again asked him to squeeze a hand, but this time Grace's. He heard the hitch of breathing over the sound of the heart monitor, it was the sound of a child's breathing after they'd finished crying, but not just any child, _his_ child.

It was almost instinctual as he felt his hand flex around those fingers, the same fingers he had marvelled over when he first held her after she was born. A larger hand joined Grace's, the skin more calloused and again the desire to move his hand was instinctual.

"Can you open your eyes for me?"

There was nothing he wanted more than to see the two most important people on this island. The effort it took to force his eyes open was phenomenal, something he had always taken for granted now taking much more concentration than anything else he'd ever done but he was determined to do it.

Finally there was a glimmer of light as he pried his eyes open, holding back the desire to allow the lids to close again against the harshness of that light. Someone must have realised because that light suddenly dimmed and he was able to open his eyes further. The sight that met him was worth every ounce of effort.

Grace was sitting by his side leaning against Steve, his arm wrapped around her back to prevent her tumbling off the bed. He knew there were other people in the room but he only had eyes for the precious child and her SEAL protector.

He wanted to tell Grace that he loved her but when he opened his mouth no words would come. His throat was dry and sore. The frustration that crossed his tired face must have been evident as Steve leaned forward and rested a hand on his forehead.

"Hey, don't try to talk. We're just glad to see you open your eyes," the smile Steve gave was one that Danny hadn't seen before and he could only describe it as overjoyed, the SEAL's eyes reflected nothing but relief.

"Here, this will help your throat," Akela made his presence known and slipped an ice chip between Danny's dry lips, earning him a tiny smile of gratitude.

Danny was as stubborn as ever and was determined to say one thing before the exhaustion dragged him back into oblivion again, "Danno… loves you… Monkey."

Steve would deny that he actually cried when he heard that sentence, if anyone dared to ask, but both Kai and Danny spotted the tell-tale tracks on his face but neither would ever share that fact with another soul. He squeezed his brother's hand where Grace was still clinging to her Dad as if her life depended on it, as opposed to his.

Grace knelt up on the bed and looked at Steve, who immediately understood what she needed and pulled her up into his arms holding her until she was hanging over Danny's head and then he lowered her so she could plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you too Danno."

A small smile graced the detective's lips as he slid back into sleep, satisfied that Grace knew, without a doubt, that she was loved.

"Danny?" Steve asked softly and looked at Akela.

"He's gone back to sleep," the nurse assured the man and the child in his arms. He checked Danny's vital signs which had settled down but were stronger than before, "I think he's turned a corner."

The atmosphere in the room changed immediately and Kai left to make the necessary phone calls to enable Steve to stay at his brother's bedside with his niece. The response he got when he made those calls nearly left him with hearing problems! Even the ever stoic and placid Chin shouted with joy at the news.

-5-0-

"Danny, you've only been out of the ICU for a day! Would you please give yourself some time to recover?" Kono was exasperated by her older brother and team mate. Two weeks after finding him he was finally out of ICU and on recovering from his ordeal as well as could be expected. Unfortunately that recovery was going to be slow and painful but the injured man lacked the patience to just lie still doing nothing.

"I'm bored Kono. B.O.R.E.D!" Danny whined, totally seeing the irony in the fact that he was being so impatient and if it were Steve in the bed he would be lecturing him.

"How the hell can you be bored? You're only awake three or four times a day for about an hour!"

"But when I'm awake I'm not allowed to _do_ anything!"

"That's because you _can't_ yet!"

"Of course I can!"

"No, you can't!"

"I'm perfectly capable of sitting up!"

"No you're not!"

Neither of the combatants noticed when Ani slipped out the room; too busy trying to convince the other of their argument.

"I am!"

"Really you're not!"

"How hard can sitting up actually be?" exclaimed Danny. Yes, he was only awake for short periods a few times a day, but he'd been staring at a ceiling since he'd started to come round and it was a _boring_ view.

"Danny!" growled Kono, reaching the end of her tether. Chin would be much better suited to dealing with Danny when he's in this kind of mood.

The door to the room swung open and in the doorway stood a clearly unhappy Steve, arms folded across his chest, feet hip distance apart and standing tall, Ani could be seen standing just off to the side and behind him.

"What the HELL is going on in here?" he demanded.

"He's driving me mad; he won't do as he's told!" Kono responded.

"She won't even let me sit up!" Danny replied at the exact same time.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering when he'd become the more responsible sibling of the three of them as opposed to their damn it all to hell, blow everything up boss. If he stopped to think about it he'd realise it was right around the time Grace had thrown herself at him when she first arrived at the hospital, stepping into the metaphorically large shoes that were Danno's, where his daughter was concerned at least.

"How old are you two?" he waved a hand to cut them off before they could say anything, "You should know better than to argue with him," he pointed at Kono who's mouth dropped open while Danny grinned, "You should have just got Akela or Henry to sort him out!" That wiped the smile off Danny's face and put it back on Kono's, "You," he turned his attention back to Danny, "Need to do as you're told! Kono, go with Ani and take a break. I'll stay with Danny."

"Steve…"

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere on my own Ani," Steve assured the young HPD officer. He'd left Kai with Chin downstairs in the hospital cafeteria when Ani had appeared looking rather flustered and unsure. Danny's protection detail was still outside the door so he was perfectly safe to be left with his partner without another member of the team.

"OK then," Ani nodded, "See you later Danny." She received a wave in response. Kono got a glare as she left, her response to that was merely to roll her eyes.

Steve threw himself down in the chair next to the bed and rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward and stared at his partner, fingers of his hands intertwined. Danny shifted uncomfortably under the steely glare.

"What is your problem?" Steve asked.

"My problem? You're really going to ask what my problem is?" Danny was fed up. Fed up of being so tired he slept for twenty hours a day; fed up that most of his sleep was plagued by nightmares, ones that he hadn't told anyone about. He was angry that his body was too weak to even manage sitting up on his own. Most of all he was fed up of being scared. Scared that Warner would come back; scared that the damage to his wrists was going to be bad enough to prevent him returning to the job that he still loved, despite everything that had happened. Given all of this he finally let out some of the emotions that he had been keeping locked up, "I was held, against my will and stuck with a damn cattle prod! I was hung like a side of meat from a hook! Then, just because that wasn't enough shit, I had some medieval torture device strapped to my neck. Of course that _still_ wasn't enough so I was then lowered into a god damn box Steven, not just any box, but one in the ground and strung up by my wrists again! I do nothing but sleep and when I do the drugs I'm on prevent me from waking up from the nightmares that plague me every damn minute. I might never be able to do my job again," Danny took a deep breath before continuing, "What if Grace never recovers from seeing me like this? She'll never look at me the same way again!"

Steve sat and let Danny say whatever he felt he needed to, in fact he'd been waiting for him to finally crack and let it out. Pretending he was fine wouldn't get him through this; he needed to admit what was bothering him.

"I am so weak that I wouldn't be able to protect myself from a fly right now! That bastard is still out there and I'm a prisoner of my own body all because of what he did to me! So, my problem, Steven, is that I'm angry! I'm resentful! I'm FED UP!" the last was said with as much of a yell as the now emotionally, as well as physically, exhausted man could manage.

"You forgot something Danno," Steve said softly meeting the questioning gaze of his injured friend, "You forgot to say that you're scared. It's alright to be scared Danny," the SEAL got up from his chair and perched on the side of the bed, resting his hand on Danny's.

"Yeah, I'm scared, but not for me."

"I know."

"What if he comes back and goes for Grace, Rachel, Chin, Kono or you? Or even Ani, Kai, Troy and James?"

"He won't, but if he _is_ stupid enough to reappear and go after one of us, and this includes you, then he'll find he's out of luck! Nobody goes anywhere alone; we all have protection and each other. I will not let Warner," he spat the man's name as if it was a swear word; "Hurt you or anyone else in our ohana again."

"I'm so tired of fighting Steve."

"I know Danno, I know, but we all need you to keep fighting a little longer. Once we've got Warner we can start to heal, all of us," he pulled Danny into an embrace somehow hoping that some of his own strength would seep into the other man. "As for Grace, she will recover and she loves you no matter what!"

When he felt Danny's breathing change he knew he'd fallen asleep and gently lowered him back onto the bed, sighing as he watched him sleep.

The situation with Warner had had a profound effect on the entire original team, as well as the new temporary members. The Governor had already told Steve that he would be ordering mandatory psych evals for everyone involved.

Henry had told Danny and his extended family that he could expect a long recovery period. He would be in the hospital for at least another week as his body received additional nutrients and medication. There were scans and x-rays scheduled for his wrists to find out the extent of the damage to them. Henry had called in a specialist who would see Danny in a couple of days. There was a very good chance Danny was going to need physical therapy, both for his wrists and his shoulders, as well as to build his general stamina back up. Steve had spoken to one of the physical therapists at the hospital and was sure he would be able to help Danny with that.

-5-0-

After Danny's mini-meltdown with Steve two days ago Henry had spoken with him about the ways they could manage his pain. Not only did Henry think it would help Danny feel more in control of a situation that arose because he had _no_ control of it but they would be better able to assess his condition if he wasn't on such strong medication all of the time.

When Steve arrived to relieve Kono the day of the specialists visit it was a happier Danny that waited. It wasn't like there had been a miraculous cure for all his pains; woes and fears, but talking had always helped the New Jersey native in the past and getting over that first hurdle of admitting the issues had been a great help in his recovery.

The nightmares were still present, but had lessened once Danny had started to talk about things and not just with his ohana but with a therapist that Henry had recommended. The fact that he wasn't sleeping as much also meant he had fewer nightmares of course.

"Hey," Steve sat next to Danny's bed, "How are you feeling?"

"OK."

"Danny?" he sensed the hesitancy in the other man's voice.

"I'm kind of nervous about seeing this specialist, that's all."

"Henry says your wrists have been healing really well."

"Yeah, but I still haven't regained all the feeling in my fingers. What if the damage is permanent?"

"There's a good chance it's not, you know that."

"Yeah, but…" Danny sighed.

"It's still something you're going to worry about."

"Yeah."

"Well let's see if we can put those worries to rest shall we?" both men looked up to see Henry standing in the door with another man. He was about six foot tall and kind of wiry in build with little hair but the greenest eyes that Danny thought he'd ever seen. The man smiled and the eyes crinkled. He reached out and shook both Danny's and Steve's hands as he was introduced.

"Doctor Harris, what happens now?" asked Danny of this new doctor who he instinctively liked.

"Doctor Jensen has already given me your most recent x-rays and scans. From what I've been told I think you may have some damage to the radial nerve," the doctor stepped forward, "May I?" he indicated Danny's hands with his own.

"Go ahead."

Doctor Harris examined Danny's hands, wrists and arms, "I think we need to do a nerve conduction test."

"What does that involve?" asked Steve.

"I'll place electrodes, very similar to those used for an ECG, on the skin over the nerve at different locations. Each patch will give a very mild electrical impulse to stimulate the nerve. The resultant activity of the nerve is recorded by other electrodes and then I'll use the time it takes for the electrical impulses to travel between electrodes to determine the speed of the nerve signals. An abnormal result will indicate nerve damage, whether that's because there is a blockage or there has been damage to the insulation surrounding the nerve cell."

"What can you do if there is nerve damage?" asked Danny, ignoring the mention of an electrical impulse, though he had felt Steve draw closer to him when Doctor Harris had mentioned it.

"It will depend on the cause. Let me run the tests Danny and then we can discuss options and prognosis. I don't like to guess."

"Alright," Danny sighed, "When can you do the tests?"

"How about now?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Danny still wasn't strong enough to be up and about for long periods of time so he was helped into a wheelchair, taken to the treatment room where Doctor Harris would carry out the tests and helped on to another bed.

"I am soooo sick of hospital beds!" moaned Danny.

"I know Danno, but a few more days and you'll be out of here!" Steve replied, smiling at his friend who already looked wiped out from just getting in and out of bed.

"Alright Danny, a member of my team, Alex, will be coming in shortly to prepare you for the procedure. I'll be back in about ten minutes to get started."

"Thanks Doctor Harris."

"Danny?"

"Yeah Steve?"

"Er," he hesitated to put into words what he wanted to ask, "Are you, you know, going to be alright with this procedure?"

"What do you mean?" asked Danny, knowing full well but wanting to string Steve along for just a little bit longer.

"You know, considering what you've been through…" Steve trailed off and glared at Danny as he spotted the twitch of his lips, "You know exactly what I mean don't you?"

Danny allowed the smile to break through, "Yeah, I do. Sorry. Yes, I'm going to be fine. You're here, plus it's a small electrical impulse not a cattle prod," the smile dropped and he shuddered slightly.

"You OK?"

"Yeah," sighed Danny, something he'd been doing a lot of lately, "Just one minute I'm fine and the next I can almost _feel_ it happening. Doesn't matter that I know I'm not back there."

"It'll take time."

"At least I've got the time to take, right?"

Before Steve could answer the door opened and a man stepped in. He was about six foot four and well built. Danny thought something about him looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Are you Alex?" asked Steve, also seemingly a little tense at this new person suddenly appearing, even if they had been warned. He knew that Doctor Harris' team had been vetted in advance by Chin and Kono but strange people he'd never met still made him nervous at the moment.

The only response they got was a nod as the man paused at the door with his back to them before he crossed the room to the machines. Danny and Steve shared a glance, either this guy was a mute or there was something very wrong. Not only wasn't he speaking but he was purposefully avoiding looking at them.

Steve got up and moved until he was standing between Danny and Alex. The man turned around and even though the hair colour was wrong and he was wearing thick glasses Danny immediately recognised the piercing blue eyes of Shane Warner as he pulled a gun from under the lab coat he was wearing.

Steve launched himself at the other man before he could bring the weapon fully up and knocked it out of his hand. The two men fought for dominance for a few moments before somehow Warner managed to get the upper hand and Steve went down, striking his head on the corner of one of the metal trolleys.

Warner reached for the gun that had fallen nearby and pointed it at Steve's still form. Danny had watched in dismay as his friend went down and the other man quickly went for the gun. Clearly Warner had discounted Danny knowing that he was still suffering the after effects of the treatment he'd received at his hands, his plan was to kill anyone who got in his way quickly and then take his time strangling the life out of the detective who had managed to get away.

That was his mistake; Danny was off the bed and grabbed the gun in Warner's hand again before the man could even take a breath. Warner was incensed and turned his full attention on to the man he considered a thorn in his side. The injured man drew on strength he didn't even know he possessed as he struggled with Warner, praying that someone would realise something was wrong before he could kill both Danny and Steve.

Warner was driven by a rage that was white hot, while Danny was driven by the need to protect a member of his family, both were extremely motivating factors which led to quite a struggle over the weapon. After only a minute or so the struggle took its toll on Danny's weakened body and Warner saw his opportunity, released one hand from the fight for the weapon and punched Danny so hard in the jaw that the wounds under his chin that had been caused by the fork reopened and he landed so that he was lying across Steve's legs.

Danny felt the air leave his lungs as Steve's knees met with his ribs but the SEAL didn't move.

Angry that Steve had been injured by Warner and knowing that his time was up as he saw Warner aim his weapon at him, obviously having given up the idea of slowly killing him, he made a grab for the gun in Steve's ankle holster and in one smooth movement pulled it free and pulled the trigger. Warner's own weapon fired, the shot going wide and instead of imbedding itself in the intended target of Danny's brain it grazed his arm.

Danny was done, all his energy had been expended in that effort and he allowed his body to flop back and cover Steve's lower half as he breathed heavily from the exertion. He was startled as the door crashed open to reveal the two HPD Officers that had been outside on protection detail.

"Shit!" the first Officer through the door hurried to the man he didn't recognise and kicked the gun away while he checked for a pulse.

"Detective Williams? Commander McGarrett?" the second HPD Officer dropped down beside them.

"Check Steve," Danny's words were barely audible.

The Officer leaned forward and pressed his fingertip into Steve's neck to check for a pulse, the move dragged the SEAL out of his unconscious state and he sat up in full fight mode. The Officer stumbled back out of reach as Steve's eyes came fully into focus and he registered that the man wasn't a threat, it was then he realised that Danny was lying in his lap.

"Danny!"

"Steve, you OK?" he murmured.

"Me? I'm fine. What about you? Oh god you're bleeding!" he turned to the Officer, "Get a medical team in here!"

"Already on their way Sir, along with back up."

"Fine? You're bleeding!" Danny vaguely waved a hand towards Steve's head but had no energy to move any further.

Steve reached up and held his hand against the gash on his head, "It's nothing and I'm more worried about you!"

"Warner?"

Glancing up Steve looked at the HPD Officer that was standing by Warner and raised an eyebrow in question. The Officer shook his head and there was a just a glint of unprofessional glee that was gone in a second.

"Dead."

"Good," Danny closed his eyes.

"No, no Danny, come on man, stay with me."

"'M tired!"

"Just let the doctor take a look at you before you faint!" Steve braced himself for the reaction he was hoping he'd get. He wasn't disappointed.

"Faint?" Danny's eyes popped open and he managed a pathetic version of his normal glare, "Williams' don't faint!"

"Well it sure looked like that's what you were about to do!"

"No Steven, I was about to pass out!"

"Well can you hold off on that for a little while Danny?" asked Henry as he hurried in the room, "What on earth happened? You know what, never mind. Let's get the two of you to the ER and assessed."

There was a minimum amount of fuss from Danny as he was lifted from the floor onto a gurney and wheeled from the room. Steve, however, caused the maximum amount of fuss as Doctor Jensen insisted that he at least go to the ER in the wheelchair they had in the room, given that he was a little unsteady on his feet and liable to cause himself further injury. The threat of an overnight stay settled him down and in no time he was settled in an ER cubicle being assessed.

-5-0-

Two hours later the whole of 5-0 were assembled in Danny's room, Kai, Ani, Troy and James included.

"Brah, I can't leave you two alone for a minute can I?" chastised Kono glaring at Steve sitting in a chair, a dressing over the gash on his forehead under which there were five neat stitches. Danny hadn't long woken up and was still too sleepy to comment.

"How did Warner manage it?" asked Ani, "He stayed on the island undiscovered and got into the hospital passed all the security and HPD presence."

"He knew Danny had survived and he just waited, biding his time. We found that a nurse in the ICU had dated him at one time and she told him about Doctor Harris. While Harris was up meeting Danny, Warner managed to grab Alex. He held her at gunpoint until Doctor Harris called to tell her where Danny would be, then Warner knocked her out. He'd changed his appearance enough that he wasn't recognised by any of the security or HPD."

"Wait, her?" asked Danny, still groggy and a little confused.

"Yes, Danny, her! Alex is a unisex name which he used to his advantage. When he found out where Danny was going to be he simply appeared in her place and since nobody in the hospital knew Doctor Harris' assistant he got away with it."

"Didn't change his eyes though," Danny shuddered at the memory of how he'd felt as he recognised the piercing eyes, full of an indescribable hatred.

"I guess he wanted you to know it was him," Steve shrugged.

"I'm glad he's dead," stated Kono emphatically. A round of agreement echoed in the room.

The door opened and Doctor Jensen stepped in, "Steve, Danny, how are you both feeling?" he asked as he picked up Danny's chart.

"I'm fine," replied Steve.

"Of course you are," commented Danny, raising an eyebrow in eloquent disbelief, "Except of course for the headache you have!"

"I don't have a headache," insisted the SEAL.

"Uh huh, so if I were to say, bang on something loudly, it wouldn't bother you?"

"You don't have the energy to bang on anything…"

"I don't know about Steve having a headache, but I'm getting one," grumbled Chin with a wink at his cousin.

"Steve, you need to go home and get some rest, you have a concussion and no, it doesn't make any difference that it's a minor one!"

"But Danny…"

"Is fine Steven!" cut in Danny.

"Will recover from the graze the bullet left on his arm," Henry interrupted as Steve went to respond, "however his body wasn't ready for the exertion and he needs to rest as well! Doctor Harris will be back tomorrow to do the tests but only if you do as you're told Danny."

"Ha, as if!" snorted Steve.

"Pot!" retorted Danny.

"I'll sedate the pair of you!" threatened Henry, wiping a hand over his face in frustration.

"Enough!" Chin decided to step in and save the Doctor the trouble of having to admit Steve for sedation, "Kono is going to take you home Steve, where you will stay for at least twelve hours!"

"But…"

"No arguments Steve!" Chin turned to a smirking Danny, "And you will rest as Henry has instructed, I'll be staying here to make sure you do."

Danny simply wiped the smirk of his face and nodded. Honestly he was too tired to even want to put up a fight. He'd only been arguing with Steve because he had hoped to remove the look of guilt he'd seen in his eyes. Glancing again at his brother he realised that it hadn't worked.

"Chin, can I speak to Steve in private before Kono whisks him away, please?"

The older detective thought about denying the request but he'd seen the look in Danny's eyes and knew it was important. "We'll be back in five minutes!"

The others wished the two men goodnight and left the hospital. Chin and Kono followed Henry to the nearby doctor's lounge to wait.

"It wasn't your fault Steve."

"Sorry?"

"Don't play ignorant with me Steven! Warner getting into the hospital and trying to kill me, well us actually, wasn't your fault."

"I promised I wouldn't let him hurt you again."

"You didn't let him hurt me Steve. You were knocked unconscious trying to protect me!"

"Yet here you are with a gunshot wound…"

"It's a graze Steven, a graze! Look, we both survived and he didn't. I refuse to let anything that happened with Warner affect my life any further than it has already. That includes not letting you beat yourself up over something you had no control over!"

"I just wish I could have prevented it, all of it."

"I'm not gonna lie, I wish you could have too but you couldn't and, god forbid, if our roles were reversed I'm sure I'd feel the same way you do. I know that you did everything you could and you always will. Look tomorrow I have my appointment with Doctor Harris, I'd really appreciate it if you were here for that," Danny changed the subject knowing he'd given Steve something to think about.

"You can count on it," the door opened to reveal Chin and Kono, "Get some rest Danno, you look like shit!" he grinned as he rested a hand on Danny's and squeezed.

"Take a look in a mirror you goof!"

Steve followed Kono out still grinning. Chin shook his head and watched as Danny settled down, trying to get comfortable and dimmed the light as he drifted off to sleep.

-5-0-

Nearly four weeks after being admitted to Queens Danny was finally being released. Doctor Harris had managed to find a blockage that had been causing pressure on his radial nerve in both wrists and had carried out a procedure under local anaesthetic to remove it. Both his wrists were currently in braces but with physical therapy he'd be back to his original functionality in time.

Unsurprisingly he was off to Steve's to recuperate given that he was still not up to full strength. The team had continued to ensure he wasn't left alone despite Warner no longer being a threat. Danny would have normally fought them but he found it comforting for the time being. The fact of the matter was it would take time for him to recover from both the physical and emotional damage caused by his experiences. It wasn't lost on him that although he was the one that went through the torture the others went through it with him in their own way, so helping him also helped them. It would take time but they would all recover, eventually.

-5-0-

Name of the yacht: Moana 'Anela – Ocean Angel

**A/N: So, that's it. The alphabet has been completed. *sniffle* **

**There were several ideas I had for this final chapter, one of which was suggested by Angellpoint that I didn't use as I just couldn't get it to work out. It was longer than the rest as I felt I owed the people reading closure on the Shane Warner character as I had featured him several times through the A to Z.**

**I want to thank each and every reader, reviewer and alerter for their time. This has been a labour of love and I have enjoyed every moment of it. I intend to carry on some of the chapters in separate stories eventually. If there is a specific chapter you'd like to see a continuation of then please let me know either in your review or a PM and I'll see what I can do. Thank you again and I hope to see you when I publish my next 5-0 story in the future. x**


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